

Class _L_g3iU4 




Book 



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THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON - CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 



THE MANAGEMENT OF 
A CITY SCHOOL 

BY 

ARTHUR C. PERRY, Jr., Ph.D. 

DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 

NEW YORK CITY 

AUTHOR OF " PROBLEMS OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL," 

"OUTLINES OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION," 

"THE STATUS OF THE TEACHER," 

"DISCIPLINE AS A SCHOOL 

PROBLEM," ETC, 



REVISED EDITION 



NrfD ffotk 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1919 

All rights reserved 






Copyright, 1908, 1919, 
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1919. 



WottoooU Press 

J. S. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.. 



MAR -5 ■ ' ; 

©CI.A512475 



Aaa> 



PREFACE 

Prior to 1908 there was no book on School 
Management that treated specifically the adminis- 
tration of a city school; there were, in fact, very 
few books that even distinguished between school 
management and class management. In that year 
the author's The Management of a City School was 
published, the first volume to deal exclusively with 
the specific problems confronting the principal of 
a city school. The gracious reception accorded 
the book has prompted the author, at the end of a 
decade, to undertake a complete revision. The 
plan of organization of the original edition has been 
retained; but the text has been liberally reappor- 
tioned and supplemented, the citations brought to 
date, and bold-faced topical headings introduced. 

It is hoped that the book may continue to interest 
those charged with the responsibility of managing 
schools, those preparing themselves for adminis- 
trative positions, and the teaching profession 
generally, and that, in its new form, it may render 
an increasingly helpful service. 



VI PREFACE 

The author wishes that it were practicable to 
name all those who have aided and inspired him 
in his study of school administration, and more 
particularly in the present work of revision, but 
that is rendered impossible by the fact that they 
are legion — associates in the practical work-a-day 
affairs of a city school system, teacher-students 
eagerly responsive in the lecture-room, and thinkers 
and doers in the profession everywhere. He must, 
therefore, content himself with acknowledging, thus 
broadly, his obligation, a debt none the less real and 
none the less appreciated. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Introduction i 

School management, i ; The city school, 2 ; 
System, 4 ; Official relationships, 5. 

II. The Principal and the State .... 8 
Twofold relation, 8 ; General relation, 9 ; General 
obligations, 13 ; Special relation, 20 ; Contractual 
obligations, 21 ; Legal status, 25. 

III. The Principal and the Public . . . .32 

Parents, 32; Cooperation, 34; Correspond- 
ence, 53 ; Interviews, 59 ; Self-seekers, 65. 

IV. The Principal and the Authorities ... 69 

Three authorities, 70 ; Principles of supervision, 76 ; 
Improper supervision, 81 ; Interpreting orders, 84. 

V. The Principal and the Teachers . . .88 
Ideal teacher, 89 ; Assigning, 91 ; Relation, 93 ; 
New teacher, 94; Three kinds of teacher, 98; 
Teacher's authority, 102 ; Instructing, 104 ; Con- 
ference, 108; Course of study, in; Term's work, 
112; Plan and progress records, 113; Daily time 
schedule, 118; Uniform methods, 124; Correla- 
tion, 125 ; Quality of work, 125 ; Model lessons, 129 ; 
Rating, 133 ; Substitutes, 141 ; Special teachers, 146 ; 
Assistants, 147. 

VI. The Principal and the Pupils: The Material 

Equipment 152 

School building, 153; Heating and ventilation, 
157; Supplies, 160; Decoration, 174. 



viii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

VII. The Principal and the Pupils' Physical Wel- 
fare 181 

General responsibility, 181; Entrance and exit, 
193 ; Physical care, 203, 

VIII. The Principal and the Pupils' Scholastic 

Progress 230 

Admission, 230; Grading, 231; Grouping, 233; 
Departmental plan, 240; Rating, 250; Promo- 
tion, 256; Classroom work, 266; Standards and 
tests, 273 ; Three kinds of tests, 284. 

IX. The Principal and the Pupils' Moral Develop- 
ment 307 

Discipline, 307 ; General principles, 309 ; Specific 
methods, 319; Teachers as disciplinarians, 320; 
Teacher's personality, 320; Specific cautions, 322; 
Specific aids, 328; Principal as disciplinarian, 331; 
School spirit, 332 ; Preventive measures, 349 ; Prin- 
cipal's legal responsibility, 361. 

X. The Principal and the Principalship . .387 
Qualifications, 387; Adjustment to position, 399; 
Personal growth, 402 ; The principalship, 404. 

Appendix 413 

Examination questions in "School Management." 

Index 427 

Index of Names 433 



THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 



THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY 
SCHOOL 

CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTION 

School management. The states of the United 
States are a unit in decreeing that the establishment 
and maintenance of a system of public schools is a 
necessary function of modern government. The 
State administers its school system through a State 
department. It delegates local administration to 
trustees, school boards, boards of education, etc., 
each directing the schools of a local unit. From 
these lay officers, in turn, is transferred the function 
of actual supervision of the schools to a technically 
equipped superintendent. From the superintendent 
is delegated the detailed administration of a single 
school, or group of schools, to the principal. The 
principal manages his school with the aid of the 
teachers, each of whom manages her class. Thus 
school administration divides itself into (i) school 



2 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

direction, by the school boards; (2) school super- 
vision, by the superintendents ; (3) school manage- 
ment, by the principals ; and (4) class management, 
by the teachers. This book concerns itself specifi- 
cally with the third of these departments of ad- 
ministration. 

Two attractive temptations have been resisted: to 
reach up into the problems of the school superintendent, 
and to reach down into the detail of the work of the class 
teacher. A discussion of the broader questions of school 
administration — such as the financing of systems, the 
coordination of schools, the functions of school boards, 
the construction of courses of study — would be interest- 
ing. But these are outside the range of the principal's 
daily work, and moreover they have already elicited an 
extensive and valuable literature which is at the com- 
mand of the thoughtful principal. The same may be 
said of the more intimate problems of the class teacher. 
What has been attempted is a statement of the more 
important principles which should guide the principal 
in the administration of his school. 

The city school. The conditions assumed are 
those which confront the principal of the city public 
school of elementary grade. The district school of a 
class or two, or the town school of four or five rooms 
with a teacher in charge, does not measurably 



INTRODUCTION 3 

present the problems here considered. 1 But to the 
principal of from ten to one hundred classes, 2 en- 

1 In a few cities there are duplicate or double-session schools, as 
a rule the result of failure to provide enough buildings to keep 
pace with increase in pupil enrollment. The enrollment in excess 
of normal seating capacity is provided for by having pupils attend 
in double shift. If classrooms only were used the school day 
would extend to ten hours in order that each of the two relays of 
pupils should have five hours. As this would necessitate working 
pupils too early in the day, or too late, or both, recourse is had to 
a program which utilizes auditoriums, playrooms, and playgrounds 
for mass activities. By working the whole plant to the limit, re- 
gardless of pedagogic considerations, the day can be shortened 
to seven or eight hours. 

The principal of a duplicate school meets many difficulties of 
administration peculiar to that type of organization. His special 
problems are not considered in this volume, however, because of 
the comparatively insignificant number of duplicate schools and 
because of their transitory character. Virtually no city adminis- 
tration, it would seem, would now dare commit itself to a parsi- 
monious program of establishing a makeshift duplicate school 
as its permanent ideal, and virtually no educational adminis- 
trator would claim that a duplicate school has inherent advantages 
impossible of attainment in a non-duplicate organization. 

2 In this book, Grade is applied to a group of pupils doing the 
same level of work ; the grades are designated by numbers indicat- 
ing the pupil's year in school, with a literal suffix indicating 
the first or second half of the year, the successive grades being 
1 A, iB, 2 A, 2B, 3 A, etc. Class is applied to the group of pupils 
under a single teacher, in a single room. Thus, in a large school, 
there may be two or more classes of any one grade, or in a small 
school two or more grades in one class. 



4 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

rolling from 400 to 5000 pupils, there are continually 
presented perplexing problems which demand ma- 
ture thought and keen judgment. Of recent years 
there has been a tendency to place in the hands of 
a single principal a school or schools so large as to 
demand the ability and energy of a veritable " cap- 
tain of industry. " It is not in order to discuss 
the advantages or disadvantages of the passing of 
the old-time school master and the advent of the 
modern school manager. It is sufficient to realize 
that such a transition is taking place, and to examine 
into the requirements of the new position. 

Frequent citations from the by-laws of the school 
boards of various cities are given to illustrate practice in 
respect to details of management. The figures following 
each reference indicate article, paragraph, section, etc., 
without specifying the title of the document — by-laws, 
rules, regulations — employed in that particular city. 

System. The principal of to-day must apply 
the same business principles to the handling of the 
business side of his school as are employed by any 
other manager of large interests. In order to exert 
the full measure of his influence, he must do his 
work systematically, accurately, and promptly. 

He must even be prepared to face the charge of 



INTRODUCTION 5 

the jealous, the misunderstanding, or the incapable, 
of being too systematic. " Red-tape " will be the 
indefinite accusation. Red-tape, however, is un- 
justifiable system. System .should be merely a 
means to worthy ends; never regarded as the end 
itself. When a system ceases to simplify and pro- 
mote efficiency, it becomes red-tape. When a 
system is followed for itself and not for what it can 
do, it becomes red-tape. Whenever system becomes 
red-tape it should be abandoned. 

If system along any line simplifies the work of the 
principal and thus conserves his energy, leaving 
him more to put into the professional side of his 
work, he should adopt it. Throughout these pages, 
systematic treatment of the various phases of ad- 
ministration is recommended, not because the par- 
ticular methods cited are unique or the best, but 
because they have tried advantages and may suitably 
serve as suggestions. 

With topics which permit of difference of opinion 
the aim has been to present both sides of the ques- 
tion with equal fullness and with sufficient sub- 
mergence of possible personal bias. 

Official relationships. The school here under 
discussion is but a part of a city or town system of 



6 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

public education. The principal is thus brought 
into relation with higher authorities, — a School 
Board, a Superintendent, perhaps a Board of Super- 
intendents. Hence we must look into this relation- 
ship, which is done under the caption " The Principal 
and the Authorities." 

At his other hand are the principal's coworkers, 
the teachers. Upon the relationship which he 
establishes with them will his success in large measure 
depend ; therefore a chapter is devoted to this topic. 

Throughout the book I refer, for the sake of clearness, 
to the principal as he and the teacher as she, though I 
am not unmindful that there are many women principals 
and many men teachers in our schools. The reader will 
please not to take exception to the arbitrary selection of 
pronouns, but accept it as a simple convenience. 

In addition to these relationships there must be 
considered the relation of the principal to the legal 
entity, the State, and to the more concrete public 
which comes daily into his office on various errands, 
many legitimate and sincere, but alas ! too many 
others mercenary or meddling. 

It is not to be forgotten, however, that the very 
existence and maintenance of the schools is in behalf 
of the pupils ; and the matters of detail growing out 



INTRODUCTION 7 

of the principal's daily responsibility for the welfare 
of the children under his charge demand extended 
treatment. 

The ultimate element of success in a principal's 
career is, after all, the principal himself. It will be his 
personality, his attitude toward duty and progress, 
that will make or mar his school. Hence the con- 
cluding chapter will consider the Principal and the 
Principalship. 



CHAPTER II 

THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE 

Public control of schools. The State, through its 
departments of education, lecture bureaus, public 
libraries, museums, and other institutions, gives a 
broad definition to the phrase " a system of public 
education " ; but to the average citizen the word 
education is limited in its application to his and 
his neighbor's children, and in its content to their 
formal instruction in the public school. It is the 
relation to the State of the administrative officer of 
a public school known locally by various titles, 
but most frequently by that of Principal, that com- 
mands our present attention. 

Two relations of the principal to his work. At the 
outset we must distinguish between two fundamental 
relations which the principal bears to his work, to 
confuse which is hopelessly to cloud discussion. 
The principal's twofold relation is, on the one 
hand, broad and general; on the other, narrow 
and specific. His general relation is ill defined 

8 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE g 

because it concerns his obligations to society as a 
whole; his specific relation is well denned because 
he is under contract as an agent of organized gov- 
ernment. 

A. The principal's general relation. The prin- 
cipal's general relation to his work rests upon the 
fact that he is a professional man owing service to 
organic society in return for the benefits accruing 
from membership in the organized social group. 

The questionable epigram that "all men are created 
equal" has served noble purpose in its time. It has, 
however, given place in the public mind to a series of 
ideas which may probably be fairly expressed thus : it 
might be a comfortable though monotonous condition if all 
men were born free and equal ; they are not, and human 
ingenuity cannot reasonably expect to create this condi- 
tion ; we do not despair of the amelioration of present 
conditions ; we hope, not that every man shall be born 
into the world with equal equipment of body, mind, and 
material possessions, but that every man shall have a 
free and unhampered opportunity to make the most 
of such natural equipment as is his. 

When equal freedom and opportunity do become the 
heritage of all members of society, then presumably their 
obligations will be distributed equally. In the mean- 
while, taxes are levied in proportion to a man's wealth, — 
at least, that is the aim. When society has paid the 



io THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

laborer his dollar a day for digging a ditch, it considers 
the account practically closed ; if there were no " society," 
the laborer, alone in the forest, could by the output of 
equivalent labor support himself approximately a " dol- 
lar's worth." When society has paid the manufacturer 
a million dollars a year for supplying it with the products 
of his mill, it considers the account still open ; if there 
were no "society," the manufacturer, alone in the forest, 
could never, by the output of any conceivable labor, 
support himself a " million dollars' worth." Hence 
society says to the millionaire : You must make an extra 
return to us for the opportunity which by our very exist- 
ence we have given you to accumulate dollars. Many 
millionaires, themselves, recognizing the justice of so- 
ciety's claim, make voluntary payments far in excess of 
the formal taxes imposed. 1 

The professions. Society is more and more 
urgently claiming the right to levy taxes not only 
upon the material wealth of its members but upon 
their mental and moral wealth as well. There are 
certain classes of persons upon whom this non- 
monetary tax falls heaviest, namely, the workers in 
the professions. Once limited to law, medicine, and 
theology, the present-day conservative use of the 
word profession is indicated by the Standard's 

1 See Gerald S. Lee, Inspired Millionaires, for development of 
the idea of a million dollars as an art form. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE n 

definition : an occupation that properly involves a 
liberal education or its equivalent, and mental 
rather than manual labor. A liberal education is a 
form of opportunity provided by society ; in return, 
society demands a general though not very sharply 
defined service from the members of the professions 
in addition to the specific services for which its 
individuals are paid by contract. In its limited 
concept the idea takes concrete expression in the 
expectation that the physician shall serve in an 
emergency without preliminary stipulation as to 
his fee, that the clergyman shall respond to a 
" call " outside his own church, that the lawyer shall 
not instigate litigation for the sake of profiting 
by its settlement. The thought has, however, a 
broader and still more ideal content. 

The physician has his specific relation to his profession. 
With his individual patients he is virtually under con- 
tract to render a certain amount of service for a given 
financial reward. But he also has a general relation. 
Society demands of him that he shall use his liberal edu- 
cation along his special lines for the general good. He 
is expected to aid in the advance of medical science and 
to give his discoveries freely to society as a whole ; he is 
expected to advise society as to legislative measures 
necessary to its physical well-being and to agitate for 



12 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

their enactment; indeed, he is expected to immolate 
his self-interest to the extent of so bettering conditions 
generally that he will be less needed specifically. 1 

The pastor or priest has his specific contractual rela- 
tion to his church. But when his special duties toward 
his parishioners have all been performed, society still 
asks that he recognize and discharge his general obliga- 
tion. As the representatives of the institution whose 
aim is to lead in the paths of righteousness, the clergy are 
expected to advance the moral health of society just as 
the physicians are expected to protect and advance its 
bodily health. 

Similarly, the lawyer has a broader obligation than is 
implied by his contractual relation with his clients. In 
addition to meeting the specific demands of his profes- 
sion, he is expected to contribute freely of his learning 
toward civic progress and the betterment of organized 
government. 2 

Teaching as a profession. A parallel to the three 
traditional professions is teaching. In proportion as 
the school man is liberally educated, society imposes 

1 For instance, it is the physicians who see that our houses are 
disinfected after a case of contagious disease, notwithstanding that 
it might be, in a narrow sense, more profitable to them if they kept 
this secret to themselves. 

2 Witness the fact that society "honors" one form of this 
service to the extent that a lawyer will gladly relinquish a $20,000 
practice for a $10,000 judgeship. Also, note the influence of Bar 
Associations upon judiciary elections. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE 13 

upon him an extra-contractual obligation. 1 The 
president of any of our great universities, for ex- 
ample, obtains a general survey of the educational 
world and its needs, and thus gains a specialized 
equipment which it is his duty to use in public 
service. His specific duties toward his institution 
are performed on a definite basis of service rendered 
for cash paid. Yet such a baldly commercial state- 
ment must shock even a callous reader. The 
devoted service of many a college president to 
thousands of individuals and to society as a whole 
is immeasurably larger than the financial return 
which society gives him. It is the difference between 
the two norms that measures the " general " obliga- 
tion which he has fulfilled, based upon his liberal 
education and his membership in a profession — 
that is, upon opportunity. 

The principal's general obligations. All men are 
not created equal and all men are not created even 
with the same opportunity. It is not given to every 
lawyer to sit upon the Supreme Court bench, nor to 

1 A crude though very concrete illustration is the way in which 
any teacher, especially in rural districts, is pursued by people who 
have no contractual claim upon him, and plied with intellectual 
puzzles, for the solution of which he, ex officio, is supposed to be 
especially responsible. 



14 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

every physician to make a revolutionizing discovery, 
nor to every clergyman to initiate some great reform, 
nor to every educator to guide a university ; never- 
theless, every professional man, in proportion to his 
opportunity, has his own " general " obligation. 
And this brings us to the school principal. The 
education of the average principal is probably as 
" liberal " as that of the average lawyer, physician, 
or minister. Hence his general obligations are cor- 
respondingly great, and follow four main lines. 

i. To secure recognition of teaching as a profession. 
In any American community the " liberally " 
educated men are to be found chiefly among the 
physicians, lawyers, editors, and clergy, and it is 
to this group that the people look for guidance along 
lines relating to the general welfare. If the school 
principals are not found in this group, it must mean 
either that they are not liberally educated, or are not 
alive to their obligations. For that particular com- 
munity teaching is likely not to be regarded as a 
profession. Unfortunately the condition is widely 
prevalent. The needs of society require that teach- 
ing shall everywhere become a profession. 1 It be- 

1 Any city that appointed as teachers only broadly educated and 
specially trained men and women, paying salaries to compare 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE 15 

comes a duty of every teacher to contribute toward 
bringing about this condition. The principals pre- 
sumably represent a selection from among the best 
teachers. It is preeminently their duty, therefore, 
both to convince society that it is to its interest to 
establish teaching as a profession, and to convince 
their fellow-teachers that it is to their interest to 
secure professional recognition. 

2. To win professional recognition for himself. 
Even if society seems reluctant to put the business 
of teaching upon a professional footing, at least the 
individual principal can, in his own community, win 
personal recognition as to his fitness for professional 
consideration. This takes rank as one of his general 
duties. If he has not had a liberal schooling in the 

favorably with those of similarly equipped men and women in 
other lines, would, even on the large capital required, receive 
enormous dividends in the improved financial, physical, mental, 
and moral welfare of its rising generation of citizens. It would 
doubtless be impossible to establish this condition by other than 
a gradual extension of requirements. It is fortunate that the 
trend is in this direction, but equally unfortunate that so few 
teachers encourage the forward movement. The many seem not 
to realize that their very self-interest, if no higher motive, should 
make them sympathize with it. When it is proposed to raise the 
requirements of eligibility, it is frequently the teachers who 
protest. Rather should they indorse every such measure. Indeed, 
it should be they who take the initiative. 



16 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

formal sense, he should get it ; or if he has had formal 
schooling, he should broaden and deepen it by 
continued study and reflection. Society will take 
him as it finds him and will estimate him much as he 
fairly estimates himself. If he rests snugly in a 
comfortable official position from which he cannot 
be disturbed so long as he renders some sort of 
service, perhaps no more than a perfunctory time- 
service, his fellow-citizens will class him, and that 
but casually, as an accident enjoying a public 
" snap," a " feeder at the public crib." If, on 
the contrary, he proves himself truly educated, 
if he regards his office as the agency through which 
he renders public service, if he identifies himself 
with professional men and women, the leaders of 
public thought, his community will award him 
professional credentials, and through him the teach- 
ing vocation will gain measurably in dignity and 
recognition. 

3. To evaluate the school environment. The school 
is an institution for providing such artificial environ- 
ments as will short-circuit for the pupils the experi- 
ences of the race. In turn, the school is subject to 
the influence of the environmental forces playing 
upon it from all sides. The principal should cor- 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE 17 

rectly appraise these forces, particularly taking into 
account the correlated institutions. The family and 
the church, though universal throughout the civil- 
ized world, are subject to wide local variations. The 
family life of one American community differs con- 
siderably from that of another, so that the prin- 
cipal must make a close estimate of its local char- 
acter. Similarly must he measure and evaluate 
the particular religious influences at work in his 
district as well as such local forces as newspapers, 
libraries, charitable and benevolent foundations, in- 
dustrial institutions, and the more indefinite and 
subtle forces that weave themselves into the social 
life of the community. His duty toward these 
factors of institutional environment is not alone 
that he shall understand them and consider them 
in the management of his school, but also that 
he shall take his part as a man of liberal edu- 
cation in acting with them and reacting upon 
them. 

4. To give " expert" service. It is as a professional 
expert that the principal has his chief general duty. 
Society may justly expect him to contribute his 
share to the philosophy and science of education, 
and to act, as it were, on its board of advisers when 



1 8 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

it formulates its educational policies. 1 Like the 
students of other sciences, the student of education 
must be continually testing and retesting its prin- 
ciples. The principal, as a student enjoying pe- 
culiar opportunities, must maintain a scientific 
attitude, accepting new theories, not as laws of the 
Medes and Persians, but as hypotheses to be tested 
in the laboratory of his school and his own thought. 

1 The general public is acquainted with education chiefly as an 
art practiced by the teachers it knows. Few realize that it is 
based upon sound principles which in their systematic collation 
constitute the science of education. The fact that it is not an 
exact science, and presumably never can become one, does not, of 
course, remove it from the scientific class ; as a science, it is most 
closely analogous to medicine. 

To the layman the work and the accomplishments of the astron- 
omer, for example, are picturesque and mystifying. The prophetic 
discovery of a Neptune is startling, and scents of wizardry. Astron- 
omy, says he, is indeed a science ! But the discovery of Neptune 
was little more than a patient study in the decomposition of forces, 
a process of deduction from established principles. Education is 
a study in the decomposition of the forces that produce the com- 
plete man. These forces are immeasurably greater in number 
and variety than those in the physical realm. The newborn babe 
is far more complex than a solar system ; the educated man is even 
more marvelously complex ; to convert the one into the other is a 
task beside which regulating the gear of the planets is play. 

Scientific treatment of the subject of education is not precluded 
by reason of the fact that the phenomena are complex, the data 
unlimited, and the generalizations tentative. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE 19 

This may at times bring him into disagreement with 
his fellow-educators, and he must conduct himself 
with fairness and courtesy, recognizing the rights 
of others to their opinions and maintaining his own 
right to his. 

It does not do to be too dogmatic even in the material 
sciences — we may yet discard the law of gravitation. 
The educator, working in the realm of psychological forces 
and mental complexes, must ever be a skeptic. When 
some pedagogic enthusiast or journalistic theorist, 1 
with an air of finality, promulgates "the" principles of 
education, the conscientious and cautious student waits, 
waits and sees many of the " principles " utterly de- 
molished by scientific testing. Scientific generalization, 
of course, has its place, but it should be done by the 
scientifically equipped, and the results should be accepted 
only as working hypotheses. Educational theory, mean- 
ing its tentative generalizations, shifts pendulously, and 
it is questionable whether it will ever reach a state of 

1 "Opinion serves for information, and prejudice usurps the 
place of principle. The popular journals and the printed pro- 
ceedings of educational associations teem with perfectly prepos- 
terous contributions bearing the signatures of worthy and dis- 
tinguished men, who would not dream of writing dogmatically 
upon a physical, a biological, or a linguistic problem. For some 
recondite reason they face the equally difficult and unfamiliar 
problems of education without a tremor." — Nicholas Murray 
Butler, The Meaning of Education, p. 94. 



20 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

equilibrium. The principal, of all school people, must 
not lose his balance and himself swing too far or too fre- 
quently. 

Above all, society expects the educator, as it 
expects the physician, in his capacity of professional 
expert, fearlessly and freely to contribute his honest 
convictions on technical questions. If the educa- 
tional policy of society is not to be molded by the 
practical educators, including the school principals, 
by whom, then, is it to be molded? Shall the 
school men shirk their plain duty to society, and 
leave it to be performed by the liberally educated 
men of the other professions, or, what so frequently 
and disastrously is the case, by unintelligent rep- 
resentatives of the people ? 

B. The principal's special relation. The fore- 
going outline of the principal's general relation to 
his work has been given with intentional sketchi- 
ness. It has been emphasized, however, in order 
that it may serve as a background against which 
the succeeding discussion of his special relation may 
stand out in bold relief. 

Society, through its organized institution of gov- 
ernment, establishes and supports schools. In 
America, education is a function exercised by the 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE 21 

State governments. We have no federal system; 
we have no municipal systems, properly speaking. 
The administration of its school affairs by the city 
is not an inherent right of the city but one which, 
like its other municipal functions, it receives at the 
hands of the State through statutory instruments. 
The State does not surrender its function as public 
educator, but, to secure economy and efficiency in 
administration, delegates the detailed exercise of 
that function to its corporate municipalities. This 
it does tentatively, reserving the right, which it 
frequently exercises, to resume functions previously 
delegated to the cities. 

Throughout the country the relation of State to 
city varies as to details. The principal should have 
a clear understanding of the particular relation that 
exists between his State and his city. 

The principal's contractual obligations. The exact 
form of the contract which the principal makes 
is also a matter of local variation. The condition, 
however, is essentially this : The principal is under 
agreement whereby, in consideration of a stated 
salary, he is to administer the affairs of a particular 
school in accordance with the terms of his con- 
tract. These terms are usually in the main only 



22 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

implicit, 1 but legally they are as binding as if explicitly 
stated in a formal documentary agreement. The chief 
sources of the " terms " are the State constitution, 
the State laws, the municipal charter, and the by- 
laws, rules, and regulations of the school board and 
the directions of its officers. With these the prin- 
cipal should be as familiar as he is with the other 
side of his contract — that which states the 
number of dollars and cents constituting his re- 
muneration. 2 

Obligations fundamentally legal. The duties 
arising from the principal's general relation to the 
State are not included in his contract. It is assumed 
that he will meet the obligations of his contract and 

1 Actual contracts, in general form, are used in several places. 
Virginia School Law prescribes : "Written contracts shall be made 
by the school board with all public free school teachers in a form 
to be prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction 
before they enter upon their duties. Such contracts shall be 
signed in duplicate, each party holding copy." — page 66. "In 
all cases teachers must be elected and the terms of the contract 
prescribed at a regular or called meeting of the board, and such 
contract shall be executed on behalf of the board by the clerk, 
unless the board shall designate some other member thereof to 
execute the same." — page 174. 

2 New Haven specifies in its rules : Teachers "shall make them- 
selves familiar with the rules and regulations of the Board, espe- 
cially those relating to their own duties." — sec. 223. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE 23 

perform his specific duties on a working basis of 
sound philosophy and in a spirit of progressive 
scholarship, but his fundamental relation to his school 
is not pedagogical, but legal. This distinction must 
be accurately apprehended and kept constantly in 
view. 

To illustrate, consider the case of a New York City 
principal who has certain well-formed administrative 
opinions, gained by fruitful experience and sincere think- 
ing, among them, for instance : (1) that once a term is 
as frequently as his school should be put through a fire 
drill; 1 (2) that the principal should not be required' to 
have technical knowledge of the janitor's duties in run- 
ning the heating plant ; and (3) that the principal should 
have the power to reduce pupils in grade without refer- 
ence or report to his superiors. His obligations are, 
however, expressly defined for him, as follows : (1) a 
State law provides that he shall exercise his school in a 
fire drill once a month, subject to a fine of $50 in case of 
neglect; and the by-laws of the Board of Education 
provide (2) that he shall have responsible supervision of 
the janitor as to the operation of the heating apparatus ; 

1 His chief argument would probably be that there is an element 
of danger even in the "drill," and that this risk should be incurred 
very infrequently. Such a position is not here defended. The 
subject of emergency dismissals is discussed later and the reference 
to it here, as to the other topics, is only to give point to the 
supposititious case cited. 



24 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

and (3) that upon reducing a pupil in grade, he shall re- 
port the fact to his superintendent, who has the power 
to reverse his action. 

The principal may be sincere in his belief that the best 
interests of the schools require their administration in 
accordance with his opinions, but it is clear that he has 
no option in the matter. He is under contract to ad- 
minister his school contrary, if it so happens, to his own 
opinions — his pedagogy must yield to law. This is his 
special relation to his school, but, as we have seen, his duty 
does not end here. His general relation implies that, in 
proportion as he feels the unwisdom of the law, he shall 
exercise his extra-contractual obligation to society, and, 
while punctiliously complying with the law, strenuously 
advocate its amendment. Only by performing this 
general duty can he discharge his full obligation to the 
State. 

The principal must not betray emotion in per- 
forming his legal duties when they discord with what 
he considers good educational practice. The law is 
an impersonal expression, albeit it is the consensus 
of personal opinions. The place, if there be any, 
for strong feeling for or against a law is in the course 
of its enactment or in the advocacy of its repeal 
— never in its execution. 

An extreme case serves as an illustration. Capital 
punishment is administered by law. The hangman has 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE 25 

a citizen's — we might say an expert's — right to advo- 
cate the repeal of that law, but it is evident that in exe- 
cuting the provisions of the law he has no right to "half" 
hang his subject, to hang him with intentional bungling, 
to commiserate with him on the injustice of the law, 
or in any other way to permit his personal opinions to 
affect the discharge of his official duty. It is not to be 
forgotten, too, that he is privileged — indeed that he 
ought — to resign his office whenever the conditions im- 
posed are in such conflict with his personal views as to 
prevent his " obeying orders." 

The principal's legal status. The proposition 
that, when they are in conflict, the pedagogical 
opinions of the principal must yield to the provisions 
of his legal contract, supports the corollary that the 
principal must make a thorough study into his own 
legal status. 

In case of dispute, it is far better that the prin- 
cipal be justified by statute law than by pedagogic 
theory ; only when the law is silent may theory speak. 
It is of prime importance that the principal know, 
in the administration of his school, what, by law : 
(1) he may do ; (2) he must do ; (3) he must not 
do, — i.e., his rights, his duties, and his limitations. 
As to his rights, he should exercise them without fear 
or favor ; as to his duties, he should discharge them 



26 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

honestly and completely; as to his limitations, he 
should frankly admit them and respect them. 

The principal should exercise his rights dispas- 
sionately ; he should perform his duties dispas- 
sionately; he should recognize his limitations 
dispassionately. This proposition seems axiomatic, 
yet it is so often violated in practice that further 
exposition may not be misplaced. 

i. The principal's rights. The legal rights of the 
principal will be questioned frequently by parents 
and occasionally by his official superiors ; but, con- 
scious only of the responsibility placed upon him, 
he will never " flaunt " his authority. The fact 
that he is right is all sufficient — it does not need 
obtrusive reiteration. He has but to cite the law, 
not to justify or vindicate it. Nor should he be- 
tray irritation that his authority has been called 
into question; that it should be is but a natural 
feature in the topography of his position — it is all 
in the day's work. 

2. The principal 7 s duties. The principal will 
perform his legal duties to the best of his ability 
and in the exercise of that judgment for which he 
is paid and which, it is to be assumed, he possesses. 
But he will always be subject more or less to petty 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE 27 

interference based upon the contrary assumption. 
Because, forsooth, he is a descendant of Ichabod 
Crane, his administrative judgment is assumed to 
be not quite so reliable as is that of the " business " 
man with equal responsibilities. 

It is a curious fact that members of a Board of 
Education, who, in private business, would not ex- 
pect a department head to get results without 
leaving him unhampered in working out the de- 
tails of his department, will appoint a man to the 
principalship of a public school, hold him respon- 
sible for results, and then seriously interfere with 
the detailed work of his office. Happily this state of 
affairs seems to be gradually bettering, probably 
through the increasing ability of school men to 
demonstrate their fitness for responsibility. 

The judgment of the best of business men occasion- 
ally goes wrong, and there is no reason why the prin- 
cipal should not be allowed his small percentage of 
" errors " without being condemned utterly. The 
point here emphasized is the attitude of the prin- 
cipal toward his own administrative mistakes. He 
must frankly recognize them, cheerfully acknowl- 
edge them, faithfully repair them, and progressively 
prevent their recurrence. If he indulge in any 



28 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

irritation, he must be sure that it is directed toward 
himself, where it rightfully belongs. 

3. The principal's limitations. The legal limi- 
tations of the principal are many, — in fact, it 
might be argued that in public positions generally, 
the higher the office, the greater the number of 
limitations which encompass it. His limitations 
should be recognized more promptly and more clearly 
by the principal himself than by any one else. He 
should be the first, when occasion arises, to point 
them out; at least, he should be the last to show 
feeling because they exist. This, of course, does not 
preclude his questioning them intelligently and dis- 
passionately in his extra-contractual capacity as 
an educational expert, but this, again, belongs to 
his general relation. 

The following are specific instances, which could be 
readily multiplied, illustrative of the distinction between 
administration by personal feeling and administration 
by dignified execution of law. 

The New York State law provides that no pupil shall 
be admitted to a public school unless he has been prop- 
erly vaccinated. Many physicians and others agitate 
for a repeal of this law, sincerely disbelieving in the 
efficacy of vaccination. Protest is occasionally made 
by the parent to the principal that his child "ought" 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE 29 

to be admitted without having been vaccinated. The 
parent maybe openly vehement or insidiously persuasive. 
It is clear that the principal has no discretion in the 
matter. He is limited by the law and has the single duty 
of refusing to admit the child. He may agree with the 
parent as to the law, in fact may be an agitator for 
its repeal; or he may believe thoroughly in the 
law and deprecate the parent's fear as foolishness. 
But in his office he simply states the law, unmoved, 
by either vehemence or persuasion, to any display of 
emotion. 

The by-laws in a certain city provided that no teacher 
should leave the school building at the noon intermission 
without the consent of the principal. The rules were 
amended so that the teacher might leave unless expressly 
required by the principal to remain. This, it is seen, 
was a limitation placed upon the former power of the 
principal : formerly, the initiative and the burden of 
proof were upon the teacher ; latterly, upon the princi- 
pal. Some principals assiduously, refrained from letting 
their teachers know of the change, not liking to acknowl- 
edge even this slight new limitation upon their authority. 
Others immediately notified their teachers of the new 
status. 

The questionable policy is well illustrated by the 
principal of one city school who, explaining a certain 
form he uses in rating teachers, says in reference to one 
item, "That is not official, but I make the teachers 
think it is." 



30 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

General versus specific duties. Sufficient has 
been said to establish the broad distinction between 
the general, philosophic duties of the principal and 
his specific, contractual duties. It is the latter 
which come properly within the purview of this 
volume, so that henceforward little direct reference 
will be made to the larger field. Throughout the 
subsequent discussion, however, the reader will 
scan the author's prose of technical details to the 
rhythm of his own personal ideals. For, after all, 
the general duty of the school man is, in a word, 
to give concrete expression to his own ideals. It is a 
personal rite, determined by character itself; yet 
a matter of moment, for — and we may say it 
sanely — the future of the race depends upon the 
character and progressive ideals of its educators. 

Summary. The principal is the agent of the 
State and has a twofold relation to his work. He 
has a general relation, based on his debt to society 
as a professional man, which places upon him cer- 
tain obligations, among them four : to secure recog- 
nition of teaching as a profession ; to win for himself 
professional recognition; to evaluate the school 
environment; and to render expert service to the 
community. He has a special relation, based upon 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE STATE 31 

his position as principal of a particular school, 
which places upon him the obligation of meeting the 
terms of his contract. His obligations are funda- 
mentally legal rather than pedagogic, and the prin- 
cipal should familiarize himself thoroughly with his 
legal status, learning clearly his rights, his duties, 
and his limitations. 



CHAPTER III 

THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 

The parents. It is a very concrete and personal 
public with which the principal comes into daily 
intercourse. Most numerous and most important 
of all the visitors to the school are the parents of 
the pupils therein. The spirit in which they are 
received, it must be confessed, varies considerably 
in different schools. One extreme type of principal 
assumes that, as he is the expert and the parents are 
laymen, the affairs of the school are his business 
alone, and consequently that the parent has com- 
pletely fulfilled his function when he has enrolled 
his child in the school. Some parents by nature, 
and many parents when brought to it, will accept 
this status. If Dorothy does not learn her lessons, 
" Well," say they, " it is the business of the school 
to teach her " ; if Richard misbehaves, it is no 
concern of theirs, — "Are not the teachers paid to 
discipline him? " 

Principal and parents. Technically and ab- 
stractly, this relation between school and parents 

32 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 33 

is correct, and under certain idealized conditions 
perhaps tenable. But practically it cannot be 
maintained. A principal cannot successfully con- 
duct his school on a basis of consistently disregarding 
the parents. The attempt would imply that he 
would never enlist the cooperation of parents nor 
even report to them upon the standing of pupils. 
It would indicate, too, that he regarded his con- 
tractual limitations as few and that he but scantily 
recognized his general obligations. 

The type of principal at the other extreme is 
he who questions his own professional equipment, 
who, like some of his patrons, 1 as he would call 
them, believes that " anyone can teach," and who 

1 The word "patron" is of questionable use as applied to the 
parents of pupils in a public school. See author's The Status of 
the Teacher: 

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly that the public school 
is not a close corporation representing the private interests of the 
people of a local community. It is not an institution toward 
which the parents of enrolled children stand as patrons and all 
other citizens as unrelated and unconcerned aliens." — page 15. 

"It is clear, then, that the public school teacher is not in the 
employ of the parents of his pupils nor of the citizens of the 
community ; hence his authority is not derived from parents or 
community." — page 18. 

"The teacher's legal position in the school is entirely independ- 
ent of the parents and other citizens." — page 32. 



34 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

supinely surrenders to the exactions of unreasonable 
parents. Parents respond as readily to this attitude 
as to the other. If the principal questions his own 
technical ability, there is little reason for them to 
respect it. Moreover, there is something of the 
teacher in everyone. The average American father 
has " views " on teaching — which, of course, in 
the long run is good for the school as an institution 
— and many an American mother thinks that her 
child, at least, can be educated without training. 

It is natural that there should be occasional 
differences of opinion between principal and parent. 
Must the principal ignore the parents, or must he 
abdicate in their favor? Surely, neither. He may 
have their cooperation and at the same time maintain 
his own independence. 

Cooperation. The principal should seek the co- 
operation of parents because : (i) usually his con- 
tract either explicitly or implicitly requires it; 
(2) the legitimate interest of the parent in the 
school should be recognized and respected ; (3) the 
school should always endeavor to maintain in the 
minds of its pupils the sacredness of the home, 
and never, when avoidable, weaken the authority 
of the parent ; and (4) better results in instruction 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 35 

and discipline can usually be obtained with it than 
without it. 

The principal should maintain his own inde- 
pendence because : (1) his contract holds him and 
not the parents responsible for the work and results 
of his school ; (2) he is better equipped technically 
than the parents, or else should not hold his office ; 
(3) the parents will the better respect him and the 
school as an institution; and (4) the parents will 
cooperate with him the more intelligently. 

To strike the balance between the demands of 
these two duties is one of the principal's chief 
problems. The maintenance of his own adminis- 
trative authority is dependent mainly upon his 
courteous but firm stand with the individual parent, 
as occasion arises. To the questioning parent he 
may explain exactly what his contractual obligations 
are, how necessary it is that any institution shall be 
consistently administered by a responsible executive, 
and how the interests of the parent and his children 
are much better conserved by vesting the principal 
with a considerable measure of independence than 
by surrendering the management of the school to the 
exactions of outsiders. 

Encouraging cooperation. On the other hand, the 



36 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

principal and his school need the sympathetic co- 
operation of the parents. This cooperation will be 
attained largely by the principal's attitude toward 
individual parents as he meets them in the ordinary 
course of school business. By his manner and speech 
he may convince them that their interest in the 
school is welcomed and appreciated. But since most 
citizens have an inadequate comprehension of the 
work of the school, gained secondhand through the 
reports of their own or their neighbors' children, 
the principal cannot depend solely upon the influence 
he exerts through these chance meetings with the 
occasional visitor. If the cooperation is to be intel- 
ligent and fruitful, he must take formal means of 
soliciting it. 

i. Inviting visitation. The principal may con- 
stantly advertise — through the pupils, 1 at school 

1 In most cities the report cards sent home to parents bear an 
invitation for them to visit the school. Detroit and Louisville 
carry the identic legend, which is typical of those generally in use : 

"The home and the school should work together for the good 
of the child. It is important that the teacher should be fully 
informed as to the child's physical condition, life outside of school, 
and previous history. Parents are cordially invited to confer 
with the teacher or principal." 

Freeport, N. Y., includes in its Teacher's Monthly Report the 
item " Calls at school by parents." Four other items are of interest, 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 37 

exercises, at public meetings in the community — 
the fact that he recognizes that the school is a pub- 
lic institution and hence that it is the privilege of 
the people to familiarize themselves with its work. 
They must be made to feel that they have a stand- 
ing invitation to visit the school for the purpose of 
observation, and that when they arrive they will be 
welcome. 1 If the business man can be brought to 
spend an hour in the classroom observing the regular 
work of teacher and pupils, he is much more likely 
to become a sympathetic supporter of the school 
and of the cause of public education than if subjected 
to hours of academic argument. 

in passing : Calls at pupils' homes by the teacher ; Number of grade 
library books drawn for home use ; Number of grade library books 
drawn for school reading ; Date of last formal book inspection. 

1 New Orleans incorporates its invitation in its by-laws : " Visitors 
interested in the schools are always welcome. They shall present 
themselves to the Principal upon visiting the school, furnishing 
their names and addresses and the reason for their visit. The 
Principal may decline the privilege to any visitor, provided the 
reason for such visit is not satisfactory, unless the visitor holds a 
permit from the Superintendent, or from the Medical Director, or 
from a member of this Board. In case of the refusal of this privi- 
lege to any visitor by any Principal, the said Principal shall im- 
mediately report the name, facts, and causes to the Superintend- 
ent."— IV, 4. 

New Orleans also requires visitors, "whether employees of the 
system or not," to register in the book kept for that purpose. 



38 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

It may be objected that the business of the school 
should not be interfered with to this extent, that the 
classes should not be disturbed in their work, and that 
the principal cannot give time to visitors. In actual 
practice these objections are scarcely valid, because the 
response to the principal's invitation, however heartily 
and persistently it may be given, is usually anything 
but overwhelming. If each class had but a single visitor 
daily, a school of forty classes would receive nearly eight 
thousand visitors in the course of a year. The presence 
of a caller, or even of a number of callers, ought not to be 
a source of embarrassment to either teacher or pupils, 
who, with practice, would learn to welcome the visitor 
cordially, disregard him as a disturbing factor, and speed 
him on his way, enlightened and pleased. As to the de- 
mand upon the principal's time, if he found that the 
number of visitors reached a serious total, he could 
readily enlist the services of older pupils to act, grace- 
fully and with profit to themselves, as hosts and 
guides. 

2. School exhibits and meetings. The principal 
may organize school exhibits, special exercises, and 
other meetings, to which parents are particularly and 
formally invited. The following general suggestions 
are submitted : 

(i) In a large school the visitors may be received 
in groups, those who are interested in pupils in 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 39 

certain grades, for instance, being invited for certain 
different times and dates. 

Such meetings are easy to handle, says Mr. R. R. 
Savage, principal, Public School 7, Rochester, and adds 
that they "enable teachers to get better acquainted with 
parents than at the large gatherings. Parents, too, feel 
a common interest and ' loosen up ' in discussion of edu- 
cational topics." 

The meetings, instead of coming on different dates, 
one afternoon for each grade, for example, may be held 
"all at once; each parent going to the room or rooms 
in whose work he is most interested ; all rooms open at 
the same time ; an auditorium meeting for all to conclude 
the proceedings." — Mr. F. M. Underwood, principal, 
Fanning School, St. Louis. 1 

1 The following is a sample invitation sent home, one by each 
pupil: 
To the Parents: 

You are cordially invited and urgently requested to attend an 
open meeting at the Fanning School. THURSDAY EVENING, 
Nov. 2nd, at 7.30 p.m. 

1. Come and see the work of the children, which will be ex- 
hibited in all the rooms. 7.30 to 8.15 p.m. 

2. At 8.15 in the Kindergarten, the NEED OF A BOND ISSUE 
FOR NEW BUILDINGS will be presented by able speakers. 

Our friend, Assistant Superintendent C. G. Rathmann, will 
show by a very interesting set of lantern slides, the conditions and 
needs in our schools throughout the city. Mr. H. A. Rosskopf, 
Member of the Board of Education, and one of our own patrons, 
will give other angles to the proposition. COME ! 

FANNING SCHOOL FACULTY 
and PATRONS ASSOCIATION 



40 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

(2) Evening meetings have the advantage of 
enabling more of the men to attend. Daytime 
meetings have the advantage of permitting the 
exhibit of regular class exercises, although certain 
forms of class work can be exhibited in the evening. 

Miss Anna L. Rice, principal, Lincoln School, Spring- 
field, Mass., makes the point that " Regular work in 
dancing, gymnastics, music, or dramatics can be shown 
evenings by having the youngest children first on the 
program and then excusing them. Fathers are greatly 
interested in these programs, much more than in the 
best of programs by adults.' ' 

(3) A carefully arranged program should be 
provided. Particularly at an evening meeting the 
program should not be heavy, as hard-working 
parents are tired and will better respond to a 
program frankly entertaining than to one patently 
instructive. In the one case, they may come a 
second time ; in the other, they are likely to give 
thanksgiving for their eventual escape. 

"It is also well," says Mr. Ernest Shawen, principal, 
Bellevue Junior High School, Richmond, " to have Visi- 
tors' Days, when the regular routine is followed, in order 
that parents and friends of pupils may see the child's 
real problems, in other words see what he is ' up against.' " 

Mr. Henry King, principal, Ashland School, Kansas 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 41 

City, Mo., suggests that the program " should provide a 
place for patrons as well as for pupils. If the patrons as 
well as the pupils and teachers do, all will be engaged to- 
gether in a developing situation." 

The Brooklyn Model School prepares multigraphed 
circulars to be given to the parents. The following is a 
quotation from one of them : " These parents' meetings, 
which occur about once in two months, are for the pur- 
pose of letting the parents see the work of the school, 
and of making an occasion for conferences with the 
teachers about the work, conduct, health, and other 
matters affecting the children. It is often of great ad- 
vantage to the pupil for the teacher to learn what the 
parents have to say about his home life and home condi- 
tions. It may also be of advantage to the pupil for the 
parent to inform himself more fully, by a personal con- 
ference with the teacher, as to the school standing of his 
child." Some of the topics discussed in these circulars 
are : Shopwork ; Sewing ; Cooking ; Art and Construc- 
tion Work; Reading; Writing; Arithmetic; History 
and Civics — all pointing to means of cooperation be- 
tween home and school. 

(4) Addresses by men and women of local or 
other prominence are valuable, provided the speaker 
can talk interestingly and effectively. 

Particularly so, suggests Mr. H. S. Philips, principal, 
Alcott School, Denver, "if on topics directly related to 



42 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

child life, talks on care of teeth, formation of habits, and 
like topics having to do with child training." 

The most successful address, perhaps, is one that is 
brief and snappy and leads to general discussion. 

(5) An exhibit of the regular work of the pupils 
usually proves an attraction. This work may in- 
clude not only the written and tangible products, 
but also oral, musical, manual, dramatic, and gym- 
nastic exercises. In this case, each parent should 
be brought as close as possible to his own child's 
work. 

One principal says, "Care should be taken to guard 
against 'show work' at an exhibit. Pupils and teachers 
are often overworked in the effort to put up a good show, 
which too often bears the earmarks of made to order." 
A principal in another city says, "The tangible, the 
spectacular, the showy things are what attract attention 
— cooking, sewing, woodwork, and other manual prod- 
ucts." 

(6) Teachers should not use the occasion to make 
adverse criticism of pupils to their parents. They 
should say only the commendatory things, leaving 
anything unfavorable for a special interview at some 
other time. 

Something may be said against this policy — that 
later on the teacher may be held to account for not hav- 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 43 

ing reported the unfavorable points, and that parents 
as a rule appreciate criticism if it is given frankly and in 
a kindly spirit — but, on the whole, it is safe practice to 
follow. Miss Helen K. Yerkes, principal, Rudolph S. 
Walton School, Philadelphia, puts it well when she says, 
"I believe in a frank interchange of thought regarding 
the welfare of the child ; no stilted a priori decision on 
what shall be said." 

The attitude indicated of teacher toward parent should 
be reciprocated. Parents should realize that teachers 
are giving freely of their energy, interest, and extra time. 
No parent should be permitted to make a parents' meet- 
ing an occasion for upbraiding a teacher. The principal 
should make it his duty to protect his teachers. He 
should demand of parents that all criticism of teachers be 
made formally and during business hours. 

(7) Meetings gain in importance by coming not 
too frequently, and by being held on some significant 
date, such as the anniversary of the date on which 
the school was opened. 

There are arguments both for and against periodic 
meetings. A scheduled bimonthly meeting gives chil- 
dren and parents something definite to anticipate. On 
the other hand, added zest is given to a meeting held 
unexpectedly and in relation to some significant local or 
national event. 

It is well to have the first meeting early in the term, 



44 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

so that parents may meet their children's new teachers, 
and people who have moved into the district during 
the vacation period may have an opportunity to get 
acquainted with the school. 

Miss Lydia R. Blaish, supervising principal, Indian- 
apolis, points out that "too many meetings dissipate the 
strength and interest of teachers." The effect may be 
the same on pupils and parents. 

(8) The duty of receiving the visitors on these 
occasions may be distributed among the teachers, 
committees of whom may attend to the different 
features of the meeting. Older pupils can serve as 
ushers, care for younger children brought by mothers, 
and help in other ways. 

This is valuable training in developing responsibility, 
and inculcates interest and pride in the school. Miss 
Estelle Purinton, principal, Holmes School, Spokane, 
testifies, "We have been most successful when the parents 
as well as teachers take a share in the responsibility. 
They are glad to do it. The pupils are also valuable, 
and it is a matter of pride with parents when their chil- 
dren are given positions of trust." 

3. Parents' associations. The principal may in- 
spire the organization of Parents' Associations and 
act with them for the benefit of the school. The 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 45 

meetings of such an association will differ from those 
called by the principal, in that he will cease to 
exercise his authority as principal and become only 
an incidental factor in the proceedings. The less 
conspicuous the part he takes in the meetings the 
better able will he be to maintain a position coor- 
dinate with the association as a whole. There is 
always the danger that, through ignorance of con- 
ditions or through personal ambitions or jealousies 
of members, the association may take some action 
which in effect is an interference with the principal's 
contractual authority. At such a time the principal 
must turn the enthusiasm of the association into 
more legitimate and profitable channels. He can 
do this more graciously and more effectively if he has 
previously refrained during meetings from discussing 
measures voluntarily from the floor. 

There has been a rapid advance within recent 
years in realization of the value of community 
interest in its schools. It is, in a measure, part of a 
nation-wide trend toward the development of com- 
munity self -consciousness. The public school is 
the one chief rallying point, the one institution at 
hand that has something by way of equipment and 
at the same time represents the maximum in com- 



46 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

munal sentiment. 1 Typical of the broader city 
movements is that in Pittsburgh, whose Community 
Council is " designed to bring about community 
expression, cooperative purpose, and patriotic serv- 
ice by making every public school building a rally- 
ing center for organized activity, educational ex- 
tension, and national support." 2 

Where the organization is more distinctly a local 
school affair, often the outgrowth of the one-time 
Mothers' Clubs of the kindergarten, it frequently 
includes the teachers in its membership and is 
known as a Parent-Teacher Association. In many 
cities these associations have been federated into a 
city organization. The Parent-Teacher Federation 
of Indianapolis issues a bulletin "as a means of 
communication between the Executive Board and 
the various Parent-Teacher Associations." 

Portland, Ore., says Superintendent L. R. Alderman, 
"is unusually fortunate in having a well-organized system 
of Parent-Teacher organizations . . . plans to district the 

1 The National Community Center Association publishes, at 
Mount Morris, 111., a bulletin "The Community Center." For 
bibliography on "Home and School" see Irving King, Social 
Aspects of Education, p. 62. 

2 Mr. J. M. Berkey, Director of Special Schools and Extension 
Work, publishes an outline of the work, 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 47 

city according to the high school centers. Once each 
half-year, the Parent-Teacher circles tributary to the 
nearest high school will come together at the high school 
building for a union meeting. A community sing, a 
talk, an exchange of ideas, and a social hour will usually 
make up the program. Music and readings will be 
supplied by the high school boys and girls. It is hoped 
that more of the circles may adopt the evening hour for 
holding their meetings, in order that both parents may 
attend." In Minneapolis the Parent-Teachers' Council 
is composed of delegates from all the parents' and 
teachers' associations in the city. 1 

1 A printed form is supplied, as follows : 

Minneapolis Public Schools School 

Parents : 

The schools are for your children. You must show an interest 
in what is being done for them if you expect teachers and prin- 
cipals to do their best. We ask you, therefore, to sign this card 
promising to visit the schools. 

Yours for the schools and the children, 
Approved: Benj. F. Ward, Pres., 
B. B. Jackson, Supt. of Schools, Parent-Teachers' Council 
Principal 



I shall visit School at least once this year. 

[Parent or Guardian] 



191 . . Address 

(To be returned at once to Principal) 



48 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Parents' and parent-teachers' organizations may- 
do much for a school, not alone in rendering moral 
support, but also in raising money for decorations 

A typical invitation form is : 

The Mothers' & Teachers' Association 

of THE 

Webster School 
Will hold a meeting on Wednesday 

at j p.m. in the school Auditorium. 

An interesting program will be given 

after which refreshments will be served. 

At the Lincoln School, Springfield, Mass., the following forms 
are used : 

I am in sympathy with the object 

for which the Lincoln School 
Mothers' Club is organized, and 
wish to be enrolled as a member. 

Signature 

P. O. Address 

Dues are payable in September and February 
or in full in September. 

Parents^ Evening 

The Lincoln School Mothers' Club 

cordially invites the parents of 

to meet informally the Principal and Teachers of 

Lincoln School, Club Members and Each Other 

in the Assembly Hall of the School, on Tuesday 

evening, November sixteenth, from eight to ten 

o'clock. 
Eight to Nine Nine to Ten 

Social Hour Music and Dancing 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 49 

and equipment supplementary to that officially 
provided. 1 The principal has only to encourage 
and guide the latent enthusiasm in the community 
in order to have one more force at hand contribut- 
ing to the best interests of his school. 

4. Individual conference. The principal may on 
occasion formally request cooperation of the indi- 
vidual parent on behalf of his children. These 
occasions, arising chiefly from lapses of pupils in 
their work or behavior, are later discussed in their 
appropriate connections. He has here, however, an 
opportunity to invite the visitor, after he has fin- 
ished the special business concerning which he 
called, to visit classrooms and inspect the regular 
school work. 

The disputatious parent. Cooperation is not 
always the keynote struck by the parent in his song 
of the school. So long as children are 'incompetent 
witnesses, so long as it is a passion with some people 

1 Minneapolis rules provide for bequests : " Pictures, statuary, 
musical instruments and records, stereopticons and slides, and such 
useful and ornamental apparatus and furniture as a school may 
need may be purchased by the Parent-Teachers' Association and 
presented to the school. All such memorials, apparatus, and 
furniture shall thereafter remain the property of the school and 
consequently of the Board of Education." — IX, 16. 



SO THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

to " shoot first and argue afterward," and so long as 
teachers are terrene, and share human frailties, just 
so long will misunderstandings arise between school 
and parents. Hence we must consider, however 
reluctantly, the case of the parent with a grievance. 
The schools, as we have noted, are an instrument 
of the State. The State supports the school. The 
State pays the salaries of its teachers for minister- 
ing to its children. The principal will receive the 
parent with a grievance, not alone with the respect 
due him as a gentleman, but also with the respect 
due a fellow-member of the great firm of The State, 
and will give him the attention necessary to secure 
justice for him, his child, and the school. But when 
the parent strives to secure for his child some specific 
consideration which is not his due and to grant 
which would be an injustice to the children of the 
other partners of the firm of The State, then must 
the principal stand steadfast, even against the 
parent's specious plea that he is a taxpayer and pays 
the principal's salary. 

The point that the relation between parent and teacher 
is one involving mutual consideration is well brought 
out by the New Orleans by-law : "A parent or guardian 
dissatisfied with the conduct of any jteacher toward his 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 51 

child or ward shall first lay his complaint before the 
Principal, and, if not satisfied, may complain in writing 
to the Superintendent, who shall investigate the charge, 
and, on demand of the parent or guardian, shall report 
thereon to the next meeting of this Board. Should the 
teacher be called to account or be reproved in an offen- 
sive manner in the classroom or elsewhere, verbally or in 
writing, by a parent or guardian, the child or ward of 
such parent or guardian shall, by reason of such conduct, 
be liable to expulsion." — IV, 1. 

It must not be supposed that all parents, or 
even any large number of them, who visit schools 
are unreasonable. The great majority of them 
are quite the otherwise, — intelligent, well-meaning, 
and helpful. But unfortunately the unreasonable 
parent exists and must be reckoned with, and as it 
is the exceptional case that makes the serious 
problem in school administration, the emphasis 
must be placed here, as elsewhere, upon the excep- 
tional occurrence. 

Many of the difficulties arising between school and 
home are based upon misunderstanding of school condi- 
tions and school requirements on the part of parents. 
The Department of Education in any city should give 
parents of pupils and all citizens widespread information 
concerning the schools. Kansas City provides a " Circu- 



52 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

lar of Information to Parents," sent out from the princi- 
pal's office, dated and addressed to the individual, with 
the following preamble : 

Your attention is respectfully called to the information 
herein submitted, and I earnestly ask for your kind co- 
operation in regard to the same. If your child is not in 
good health, or a sufferer in any other way, please inform 
the teacher, if you think it necessary. 
Very respectfully, 

(Signed) Principal. 

This is followed by detailed information on each of 
twelve topics : School time ; the actual length of the 
school year; the compulsory education law; sickness; 
parents' visit to school; reinstatement; deportment; 
cleanliness ; injury of school property ; absence and tardi- 
ness ; excuse for absence ; leaving during school session. 

Dr. Frank K. Perkins, principal, Public School 26, 
Brooklyn, N. Y., sends the following 

Notice to Parents 

Children should be in their classes at 5 minutes before 9 
and 5 minutes before 1 each day. 

When a child is absent or late, please to send a note of 
excuse. This is for the protection of the child. When a 
child is detained at home by reason of illness, please to 
notify the school, stating the length of time he or she will 
be absent. 

It is requested that parents do not give notes to children 
asking early dismissal, except in special cases. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 53 

There is home study or home work every night. This 
is not always written work, but may be lessons to be recited 
in the class next day. If your child says he has no lessons 
to study or home work to do, call at the school to find the 
reason. 

If the monthly report card shows "C" or "D," your 
child has fallen below the class standard in the subject so 
marked. The teacher will be glad to consult with you as 
to the best means of securing improvement. 

To be returned with the parent's signature. 

Seattle publishes, by authority of the Board of School 
Directors, a monthly four-page bulletin "for increased 
cooperation between home and school." It is edited 
by the superintendent of schools and contains such items 
as summary of expenditures for the year, pictures of new 
school buildings, description and views of work in the 
classroom, and special articles of interest. 

Correspondence with parents. In dealing with 
an unreasonable parent it is well to assume that he 
is reasonable or at least that he is going to become 
reasonable. Acting upon misunderstanding or lack 
of understanding, parents write irritating letters to 
the teachers or principal. It is good policy to 
answer all letters from parents, including those that 
are critical or condemnatory. The temptation is 
strong to ignore the ill-tempered communication, or 
else to reply in kind. If it is ignored, the parent 



54 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

is likely to follow the first letter with a second, 
written in great temper, and perhaps follow that 
with a visit to the school, which he makes in no 
pleasant frame of mind, and which leads to a time- 
consuming interview. It is wiser for the school 
to take the parent at his best, assume that he is 
sincere in his communication regardless of the 
language in which it is couched, and reply with 
moderation and dignity and in the spirit of evident 
desire to correct the wrong impression of the school 
which the parent in some way has gained. 

Teachers should be trained to refer to the prin- 
cipal all communications of this character received by 
them. 1 It is better for the principal to judge which 
communications should be answered and to decide 
upon the nature of the reply, than for the individual 
teacher, acting upon impulse, to dash off a hasty 
rejoinder. The parent who receives from the 
principal a dignified reply to a letter written to a 
teacher, realizes that he is being taken seriously; 
that the teacher is not reluctant to submit the matter 

1 Omaha requires that principals "shall approve all notes sent 
to parents by teachers ; and no note shall be sent by a teacher to 
a parent or guardian in relation to the scholarship or conduct of 
any child unless such note has been presented to the principal for 
approval." — VI, 3. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 55 

under dispute to the attention and judgment of the 
principal and that she has behind her the voice 
and authority of the principal ; and that the school 
is taking patient and sincere cognizance of his 
grievance, whether it be real or fancied. In most 
cases it is unreal, for it must be remembered that 
it is based upon the testimony of a child, — his 
child, — and such testimony is by the nature of 
the case biased and unreliable. " Despite the 
fact that the law has always recognized the total 
incapacity of children to see, to remember, and to 
express the truth, the testimony of children regarding 
teachers continues to be taken. Such testimony is 
almost worthless." l Usually but a few brief state- 
ments of fact are required to set the parent straight. 
These given, he becomes a friend and supporter of 
the school ; withheld or given in a highly colored or 
hot-tempered way, he becomes a critic of the school 
and an instigator of trouble. 

1 William Estabrook Chancellor, Our Schools — Their Adminis- 
tration and Supervision, p. 341. 

He adds: "Whether favorable or unfavorable to the teacher, 
whether upon a special fact or a general matter, the testimony of 
one pupil or of several, is never to be taken. This is true even of 
high-school pupils. It is difficult for even well-educated men to 
know and to remember the truth of a conversation or of an event." 



56 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Every teacher's experience assures her that parents 
do send hastily written notes, based on error. A few 
such letters, received in a city school, are here given, 
together with the replies in each case : 

(i) 

Miss Smith, 

It is unusual for Victor to get such a low mark in deport- 
ment. I think you have made a great mistake. I have 
erased same on his card. Trusting you will reconsider 
this. You will oblige me very much. Mrs. I. T. Brown. 

Public School No. ioo, 
Broadway and Fulton St., 
New York, Oct. 5, 19 18. 
Mrs. I. T. Brown, 

152 Fulton St., N. Y. 
Dear Madam: 

Miss Smith has referred to me your note in regard to 
Victor's rating in deportment. I think you are under some 
misapprehension as to the status of our report cards. The 
card shows a pupil's standing at the close of the month, and 
is copied from the official record. That record represents 
the work actually done by the pupil and not what we might 
wish he had done. I send you a duplicate of the card ; will 
you kindly sign the same and return it to the school ? If at 
any time you desire further information as to Victor's record 
than is indicated by the report card, I should be glad to have 
you call here for a personal conference. 

Respectfully yours, 
Henry Jones, 
Principal. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 57 

(2) New York, Sept. 30/18. 
Public School No. 100 

Mr. Henry Jones 
Dear Sir 

I think that my Dauther Martha studies her home work 
as hard as any pupil in the school room, and I do not see 
why these notes are sent to my home Hopeing I will hear no 
more complants about her hearaf ter 

I Remain verry Respectfully 
R. Haas 

Public School No. 100, 

Broadway and Fulton St., 

New York, Oct. 1, 19 18. 
Mr. R. Haas, 

69 Division Ave., N. Y. 
Dear Sir: 

Your favor of Sept. 30th is at hand. It is evident that 

you are much interested in the welfare of your daughter. 

We are too, and communications in regard to her progress 

are sent you in order to further her advancement. I am sure 

that you will see it in this light. 

Respectfully yours, 

Henry Jones, 

Principal. 

(3) Oct 17th 1918 
Miss Green 

Dear Madam 

If this Grammar is not satisfactory what my daughter 
Elenora has written, I will have to bring this matter to a 
higher authority, 

Resp' yours Wm White 



58 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Public School No. ioo, 

Broadway and Fulton St., 

New York, Oct. 18, 1918. 
Mr. Wm. White, 

Dear Sir: 

Miss Green has referred to me your favor of the 17th. 

I do not understand your attitude. You certainly desire 

that Elenora may profit from her school work, and I believe 

that you wish to cooperate with us. Miss Green has your 

daughter's interests at heart. Shall we not leave it to her 

to decide what Elenora should or should not do ? 

Respectfully yours, 

Henry Jones, 

Principal. 

It is not presumed that the replies here given are the 
best that could be made, but they are submitted as illus- 
trative of the principle that dignified and courteous 
answers may be written even to provoking letters. 

The principal's correspondence should be written 
in complete form, as to heading, superscription, 
subscription, etc. If typewritten, 1 so much the 
better, not only because of improved appearance 
but because carbon copies can thus be obtained, 
one for filing and one to be given to the teacher. 

1 Mr. William Rabenort, principal, Intermediate School 55, 
Bronx, New York, has higher-grade pupils type his letters and 
rubber-stamp them: 

This letter was typed by 

a pupil of class . 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 59 

It is but fair to the teacher that she should know 
what disposition has been made of a case that 
concerns her ; moreover, the policy of the principal 
is thus best brought to the teacher's attention. 
The typewritten letter also strengthens the parent's 
impression that straightforward business attention 
has been accorded him. The parent who in anger 
has picked up the sheet of paper nearest at hand 
and hastily scribbled a note " calling down " the 
teacher, is sure to be impressed by a reply from the 
principal that is serious, official, authoritative, neatly 
and carefully arranged, and couched in polite and 
respectful language; thus the parent is educated, 
and the pupil benefits through the higher ideal 
introduced into the home. 

Interviews with parents. Unreasonableness comes 
to the school not alone in written form but frequently 
as a visit from the parent. Again, it should be the 
principal who receives the parent and adjusts his 
complaint. 

It is wise for the principal to set aside certain times 
of the day for the reception of visitors. Some cities 
require it, for example, San Francisco : "Principals shall 
keep regular office hours on each day for the transaction 
of general school business. Notice of office hours shall 
be posted by principals on their office doors." — 32, 13. 



60 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

In interviews the principal should avoid using such 
phrases as "I haven't any time." He should even meet 
the parent- visitor's apologetic "I am sorry to take your 
time" with "I am here for just this business." This 
attitude is not at all inconsistent with a scheme of limit- 
ing the total amount of time given to interviews by means 
of office hours or a system of appointments. 

The same respectful dignity which the principal 
puts into a written reply he will put into his personal 
interview. He must impress upon the parent his 
desire to secure right and justice, his readiness to 
set matters straight, and, at the same time, his 
intention to keep the argument to facts and to the 
point at issue. He will decide whether the best 
interests of the case demand that the parent and 
the teacher shall meet. Usually it is better that 
they should. All interviews of a controversial 
nature between parent and teacher should be held 
in the office of the principal. No parent should be 
permitted to interview a teacher at her classroom. 
Notice to this effect should be conspicuously posted 
in the hallways, and teachers trained to refuse 
to enter upon such an interview. 1 

1 Mandatory in certain cities, e.g. Louisville: "Visitors to any 
school shall be admitted through the office of the principal only, 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 61 

Many parents, innocently enough, go directly to the 
classroom to give their message to the teacher. The 
message may be merely that Jane cannot come to-day 
because she has a toothache. In this case the risk is 
that, once inside the room, the fond mother and sym- 
pathetic teacher will be led into an animated conversa- 
tion relative to Jane's career, the last time Will had 
the measles or Tom the mumps, and how it is that Jane 
inherits her temper from her father and her studiousness 
from her mother, — all subjects of legitimate exposition, 
but not when fifty pupils are losing valuable time. In 
other cases, however, the tone of the parent is anything 
but mild, and there is danger of a stormy scene being en- 
acted in the presence of pupils, despite the teacher's 
most skillful handling of the situation. So, in every case, 
the teacher should politely but firmly direct the parent 
to the principal's office immediately upon his appearance 
at the classroom door. 

and none shall be permitted to enter the classroom except by 
consent of the principal." — 10, 8. 

One of the few exceptions to this policy is in Indianapolis, whose 
rules provide : " Complaints of parents or guardians in regard to 
the discipline of pupils, or any matter affecting them, shall be 
made first to the teacher and then to the principal of the build- 
ing." — XVTII, i. 

Several cities make a practice and some require by by-law that 
principals post the name of the teacher and the grade of the class on 
the outside of the door of each classroom. This is generally done, 
however, to meet the convenience of internal management of the 
school and not for the information of the public. 



62 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

This rule enables the principal to dispose of a great 
many cases without referring them to the teacher 
and without taking her time from the class. 
Whether, during an interview between teacher and 
parent, the principal shall follow the conversation 
or even remain in the office, is a matter of judgment 
as to the individual case. If it is an amicable 
understanding between an intelligent parent and an 
experienced teacher, the principal may safely ignore 
its details ; if a storm seems imminent, the principal 
will do well to be on hand to pour the oil upon the 
troubled waters. 

The unreasonable parent. In spite of the utmost 
endeavor on the part of principal and teachers to 
present fairly the side of the school, occasionally 
an unreasonable parent remains unconvinced. His 
departure is made with the time-honored threat to 
" go higher " or to " report you to the Board of 
Education " or " to the Superintendent." The 
principal may wisely indicate that he recognizes 
the parent's right of appeal; that he welcomes the 
decision of disputed matters by those in higher 
authority; and that, if necessary, he will aid the 
parent to secure a hearing. Often this very atti- 
tude, astonishing to the complainant, leads him to 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 63 

take a different view of the matter and prompts him 
to settle it without going beyond the principal's office. 
Other visitors. Although parents constitute a 
majority of the principal's callers, he has many 
other visitors, some who have a legitimate claim 
upon him and some who have not. The former 
present no particular problem, but to deal with the 
latter requires constant devotion to the letter and 
spirit of his contract. The essence of that contract 
is that the principal's time and energy belong, for 
value received, to the city and to the school; yet 
it is surprising how many people fail to grasp this 
fact, or, realizing it but vaguely, imagine that the 
principal can be induced on their behalf to prove 
false to his trust. 

In most cities such visitors are made the subject of a 
paragraph of the rules for the management of the schools. 
In some cases the prohibitory provision is couched in 
very general terms. In others it is more detailed and 
comprehensive, as in Louisville: "No subscription or 
contribution for any purpose whatever shall be intro- 
duced into any school without the special consent of the 
board. No person shall be permitted to visit the schools 
except on business connected with the schools. No ad- 
vertisements shall be read to the pupils of any school, 
on the premises thereof, or posted on the walls of fences 



64 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

of any school building, and no petition of any kind shall 
be circulated for signatures in any school of the city ; and 
no agent or other person shall be permitted to enter any 
school premises for the purpose of exhibiting, either to 
teachers or pupils, any book or article offered for sale, or 
taking subscriptions for same. No list of pupils shall 
be given by principals or teachers to any person except 
on the order of the superintendent." 

These prohibitions are allied to those which elaborate 
the theme that the school time of principals and teachers 
belongs solely to school work. Various regulations of 
this and related character are : 

"No principal or teacher or other employee shall be 
allowed to sell stationery, pens, pencils, tablets or other 
articles used in school by the pupils, except in behalf of 
the Board when authorized. No publication for adver- 
tising purposes of any kind shall be issued or distributed 
either in the school building or on school grounds." — 
Minneapolis, IX, 3. 

"Teachers shall not give notice of entertainments not 
connected with the schools ; nor permit any of the time 
of themselves or their schools to be occupied by book or 
business agents, lecturers or exhibition men." Seattle, 
VIII, 16. 

" Photographers shall not be permitted to take photo- 
graphs of the school for the purpose of selling photographs 
to the school children." — VI, 17. 

"No voting contest shall be carried on in connection 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 65 

with the public schools, nor shall any teacher be allowed 
to become a candidate in any such contest." — Minne- 
apolis, IX, 5. 

" Teachers shall remain in their own rooms and devote 
their energies to the discharge of their duties. Visiting 
each other's rooms, except on business of the school which 
cannot be postponed, all reading and writing not imme- 
diately connected with the school, and all work not tend- 
ing directly to the advancement of the pupils, are for- 
bidden." — Seattle, VIII, 2. 

Minneapolis provides that "No teacher or principal, 
in or out of school, shall receive presents from pupils or 
the immediate friends of pupils, nor shall any teacher 
make presents to any pupil, principal, or other school 
official." — IX, 6. Portland, Ore., speaks more cau- 
tiously: " Teachers, as such [sic], shall not accept any 
present from pupils under their immediate supervision 
nor any compensation for any instruction given to pupils 
enrolled in their respective rooms." — Art. X. 

Self-seekers. Too much of a principal's time is 
spent in merely denying the requests of persons 
who seek to use the public schools for private ends. 
In many cases the purpose is so cleverly veiled that 
the principal may for the moment be deceived. 
For instance, the courteous actor who offers " at 
no expense whatever " to produce scenes from the 
Shakespearean play studied by the pupils in one of 



66 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

the grades. Certainly here is a philanthropic soul, 
a devoted worker in the cause of public education, 
who would thus relieve the tedium of the school 
most pleasantly, and all " at no expense whatever." 
But in another five minutes it develops that the 
" consideration " is that printed programs shall 
be distributed to the pupils, and behold ! on their 
reverse side — or is it, after all, the obverse side 
— the advertisement of a private school bidding 
for pupils. 

Nice questions arise in some situations as to 
the propriety of complying with requests of visitors. 
For example, a lawyer demands to know the address 
of a certain pupil in order that he may further a 
client's interest in some court action. He may 
represent that it will be greatly to the advantage of 
the pupil himself if the information be provided. 
The principal will be following a safe and wise 
procedure if he declines to deliver such information 
except upon court order in due form, or upon the 
formal demand of a departmental superior. 

" Influence." Visitors also to be considered are 
those who, assuming to exercise some political or 
social influence, seek some special privilege which 
they know could not be accorded them on the 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUBLIC 67 

intrinsic merits of the case. Such a one is the 
gentleman who presents his card indicating that 
he is Chairman of Something, or Second Assistant 
Secretary to Somebody, and who has just " stepped 
in to settle that little matter of the suspension of 
my friend's boy." The direct and probably the 
best method of disposing of the interloper is to 
refuse positively to treat with him on any matters 
which are outside his legitimate province. If the 
gentleman is jovially inclined, however, as is some- 
times the case, perhaps a sufficiently logical pro- 
cedure, and one which will show him the absurdity 
of his position, is to take him at his word, accept 
his guarantee that the boy in question will behave 
in the future, and then to keep him, instead of the 
boy's father, who has surrendered his control of 
his own affairs, posted as to the boy's conduct. 

If the principal bears in mind that he is in the 
high service of the pupils of his school, but of all 
his pupils equally, the problems relating to the 
troublesome visitor, like many others, pretty clearly 
indicate their own solution. 

Summary. The principal ought to enlist the 
cooperation of the parents of his pupils. He can 
do this without surrendering in any degree the inde- 



68 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

pendence which his official responsibility makes it 
necessary for him to maintain. He establishes the 
right relationship with parents informally in his 
day-by-day intercourse with individuals and formally 
by means of parents' meetings and parents' associa- 
tions. He must deal firmly but courteously with 
all those who attempt to secure from the school 
some consideration to which they are not entitled. 
The disputatious parent must meet dignified and 
gracious decision both in the written communica- 
tion and in the interview. All visitors should 
deal directly with the principal, and teachers should 
be trained to aid in enforcing this rule. The prin- 
cipal must not be diverted from his service to 
pupils to serve private interests, however subtly 
they may be urged upon him. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE PRINCIPAL AND THE AUTHORITIES 

Official allegiance. " Obedience alone gives the 
right to command/ ' says Emerson. In proportion 
as the principal accords respect, courtesy, and 
obedience to those in positions of official superiority 
will he command the respect, courtesy, and obe- 
dience of his official subordinates. No principal 
or teacher is expected to surrender his professional 
opinions for his monthly stipend; the exploitation 
of those opinions, however, is, as we have already 
noted, not a contractual privilege, but a general 
and extracontractual duty. As a citizen he has 
a citizen's right to be heard in the discussion of 
general educational policy. As a lecturer and as a 
writer he has freedom of speech and of press. But 
as the principal of a certain school in a certain 
school system he owes official allegiance to the 
legally constituted authorities of that system, how- 
ever much their views may differ from his own. 

6 9 



70 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

The ultimate source of authority is, of course, 
" the people, " but this authority is exercised through 
organized government by way of the State to the 
municipality and thence to the school board. This 
last transfer is made by a variety of methods in the 
selection of board members : directly, by popular 
vote ; or indirectly, by appointment by the mayor 
or by some other official or elected body. What- 
ever the method of selection, the personnel of the 
school board indicates to a large degree the public 
estimate of its schools and the public purpose in 
regard to education. 

Three authorities. The function of the school 
board is practically limited to legislation. To 
secure the execution of its legislative acts a further 
transfer of authority is made to administrative 
officers. In most cities the duties of administration 
are separated into two departments, one managing 
the business affairs and the other supervising instruc- 
tion. Thus the principal is brought into relation, 
varying in directness, with three classes of author- 
ities : the board members, the business executives, 
and the supervisors of instruction. 

i. The school board. The direct contractual 
relation of the principal to his school board is 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE AUTHORITIES 71 

usually slight, orders emanating therefrom coming 
to him by way of the executive ofTices. 1 Neverthe- 
less, no principal should be ignorant of the personnel 
of the board or unacquainted with at least a few of 
its members. Whatever relation he may be fortunate 
enough to sustain with individual members, it 
should at least be reciprocal in its character ; in the 
highest sense he should give and take. His general 
duty to the State justifies his influencing such mem- 
bers in broad matters of educational policy, and 
that influence will be important and valuable in 
proportion as his specific administration of his 
school inspires confidence in his professional judg- 
ment. On the other hand, it is equally important 
that the principal himself shall profit from the 
relation. Board members almost invariably are 
laymen, as distinguished from school men, and 
represent the lay view of the schools. 2 The prin- 
cipal should evaluate the intelligence, integrity, and 
sincerity of each board member whom he knows, 
and thus intelligently equate his own views and 
those of the " spokesman of the people." His own 

1 On the relation of the teacher to the school board and of the 
school board to the State, see author's The Status of the Teacher. 

2 Professor Chancellor discusses very fully the personnel of 
school boards in Our Schools, p. 12 et seq. 



72 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

opinions are usually much in need of just such 
tempering as comes by blending them with the 
convictions of common-sensed, practical, everyday 
men of affairs, and more than one such man is 
usually to be found in every board of education. 
When based on mutual respect, the friendship of 
board member and school man cannot fail to result 
favorably to the State and to the particular schools 
in which both are interested. 

2. The business executives. Separation of the 
duties of administration into two departments 
concerning respectively the general and the pro- 
fessional business, together with concentration of 
authority and responsibility in a single head for 
each department, has been effected in a number of 
cities. In general, the business side of the work 
brings the principal into contact with the heads of 
various bureaus — supplies, buildings, care of build- 
ings, etc. — and their subordinates. They rep- 
resent the department as concerned with its material 
needs, and frequently magnify that phase of the 
work. Rather, it seems that they occasionally 
suffer from mental lippitude which makes the motto 
" The schools exist for the pupils " read " The 
pupils exist for the schools." 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE AUTHORITIES 73 

It is but natural that people dealing with supplies 
instead of with pupils sometimes seem to feel that 
pupils should adapt themselves to supplies, and 
that the building bureau should expect pupils to 
grow to fit buildings ; just as other elements of the 
" system " sometimes err by creating the impres- 
sion that the schools exist for them, — for the janitors, 
or for the teachers, or for the principals, or for the 
superintendents. When in the material depart- 
ments there is this tendency to " put the cart be- 
fore the horse," it is the duty of the principal to 
keep the true interests of the pupils before the 
official eye. Even if there be no specific rule to 
that effect, the principal will be following logical 
procedure if he conserves these interests of his 
pupils through his " instructional " superiors. 
There are advantages in presenting the claims of 
the school in the matter of equipment and supplies 
to the superintendent, and through him reaching the 
proper departments, rather than in dealing with them 
directly. If, for example, a sufficient quantity of 
needed supplies has not been delivered, it is logical 
for the principal to notify his superintendent that 
he is unable to comply properly with the require- 
ments of the course of study. 



74 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

3. The superintendent. The one official of the 
school system with whom the principal has the 
most direct and most frequent relations is his pro- 
fessional superintendent, who, in the language of 
Professor Chancellor, " is the representative of the 
schools, their accredited ambassador to the public, 
. . . the central officer of the school system." 1 
In the large systems this relationship is complicated 
by the existence of assistant superintendents. 2 
Only by a proper balance of influence between the 
superintendent and the principal can the best 
results accrue. Presumably the principal has the 
grasp of local needs and detailed insight into the 
many corners of his school, while the superintendent 
has a clearer view of the broad needs of the system 
and an intelligent oversight of the many schools 
which, coordinated one with another, make up the 
system. Both viewpoints and forms of supervision 
contribute proportionately to the welfare of the 
pupils, and both are essential. 

The relation between superintendent and prin- 

1 Our Schools, p. 133. 

2 Known sometimes as associate, deputy, or district superin- 
tendents. New York has thirty-four; Philadelphia, sixteen; 
Chicago, thirteen ; Cleveland, six ; St. Louis 3 four ; San Francisco, 
five ; Seattle, three ; etc. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE AUTHORITIES 75 

cipal of necessity implies courteous consideration on 
both sides. The stronger the superintendent the 
larger the problems with which he concerns himself, 
and in their solution he is entitled to the earnest 
cooperation of all his subordinates. As the prin- 
cipals come into closer touch with the superin- 
tendent's problems than do the class teachers, it is 
from them that the superintendent may expect the 
most sympathetic assistance and loyalty. The 
principal owes his allegiance to his superintendent, 
and will consistently render it in full. 

The premise is, however, that the superintendent 
by nature and training so regards his office that for 
him supervision on any petty basis is impossible. 
His very largeness of attitude and action may lead 
him into minor errors of form and judgment, but 
his mental breadth will make these thoroughly 
forgivable, and in no way impair the devotion and 
loyalty of his subordinates. But if the superin- 
tendent is one who constantly violates the canons 
of supervision, then the position of the principal 
is indeed difficult, for loyalty can be founded only 
upon respect for official ability and personal char- 
acter. Hence there are two sides to the subject of 
loyalty ; if a superintendent is disloyal to his prin- 



76 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

cipals, he can scarcely complain if he forfeits their 
loyalty to him. 

Three principles of supervision. It would be 
more convenient to assume that no superintendent 
ever strains the allegiance of his principals; but 
the facts do not support this assumption, and, as we 
are considering practical school administration, we 
cannot escape the subject. The situation fortu- 
nately is exceptional in its occurrence, but when it 
arises the principal confronts a puzzling but vital 
problem, and it is from the standpoint of his office 
that we must review the conditions. There are 
three chief principles of good supervision, valid for 
superintendent and principal alike, which a careless 
superintendent may violate. 

i. Avoid unnecessarily detailed supervision. The 
superintendent should not exercise unnecessarily 
detailed supervision. If he does, it usually implies 
that supervision of large problems is beyond his 
ability. If he is incapable of handling such matters 
as securing better school accommodations, raising 
the qualifications of teachers, attracting public 
opinion to the support of the schools, attacking 
some of the perplexing modern educational problems, 
then he must fill in his time showing principals 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE AUTHORITIES 77 

and teachers where to place the decimal point in 
a multiplication example. " The superintendent 
should have a large supervision over methods and 
over teaching, but he should be generous and 
liberal enough to leave all principals great freedom 
in working out their own problems." 1 " The most 
current conception of an efficient supervisor or 
superintendent is one who claims freedom for him- 
self and grants it to others." 2 

2. Respect administrative headship. The super- 
intendent should respect the administrative head- 
ship of the principal. In many cities this admin- 
istrative headship is specifically guaranteed by 
law. The principle is very clearly stated by the 
Boston School Committee in its annual report for 
1906 (p. 20) : " The principals as the responsible 
administrative heads of their respective schools or 
districts are charged with the organization thereof, 
and the supervision and direction of their subordi- 
nates and pupils, and the general maintenance of 
order and discipline. Thus, in the administration 
of the school system, the teachers are responsible 
to the principals, the principals to the assistant 

1 Earl Barnes, Report of Committee of Fifteen, p. 202. 

2 Samuel T. Dutton, School Management, p. 13. 



78 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

superintendents, the assistant superintendents to 
the superintendent, and finally, the superintendent 
to the board; and this principle of direct account- 
ability on the part of subordinates to superiors 
exists throughout the entire code." 1 

A university president of large experience tells 
us that "... in dealing with the principal the 
superintendent should make his power just as little 
felt as possible. The consciousness of the principal 
as responsible head of the school should not be 
disturbed. On the other hand, the supreme power 
of the superintendent need not be abandoned." 2 

1 New York: "Principals of schools are the responsible ad- 
ministrative heads of their respective schools. . . ." — 43, 1. 

Indianapolis: "Principals shall be held responsible for the 
general management of their several schools." — XV, 1. 

A type of succinct provision covering practically the entire 
duty of the principal is that of New Haven: "Principals shall be 
under the immediate direction of the Superintendent and his 
assistants. They shall be responsible for the general management, 
discipline and supervision of their schools. They shall see that 
the prescribed course of study is followed and that the rules and 
regulations of the Board, and all directions issued by the Super- 
intendent, assistant superintendents and supervisors are enforced. 
They shall direct and supervise the work of teachers, clerks and 
janitors. They shall have charge of their buildings and grounds 
and of all books, supplies, furniture and apparatus assigned to 
their schools." — 183. 

2 J. G. Schurman, Report of Committee of Fifteen, p. 222. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE AUTHORITIES 79 

Translated into even more practical terms, this 
means that " the superintendent should supervise 
the principals, and the principals should supervise 
their own schools." l 

In the practical application of this principle, the 
ultimate authority of the superintendent is never 
called into question ; it is merely a matter of 
administrative method. The principle of direct 
administration should be strictly adhered to by the 
superintendent ; and strict adherence should be 
expected by the principal, not because of any per- 
sonal feeling as to the importance of the principal's 
office, but solely because it is a valid principle, 
compliance with which conserves the best interests 
of the pupils. It is hardly necessary to defend the 
principle or even to illustrate it. Pupils should 
have consistent treatment from teachers ; anything 
else is wasteful. It follows that teachers should 
receive orders only that are definite, consistent, and 
in accord with all correlated details. It is more 
probable that they will be such if they come through 
the principal than if the superintendent deals 
directly with the teachers. 

3. Do not render ex parte judgments. The super- 
1 Colonel F. W. Parker, Report of Committee of Fifteen, p. 219. 



So THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

intendent should never render ex parte judgments. 
It is inevitable that complaints be made concerning 
principals. The principal deals directly or in- 
directly with hundreds or with thousands of people, 
and no executive, however competent, can please 
everyone. Indeed, there are many times when it 
would be maladministration for him to please. It 
must be remembered, too, that there is a difference 
between a complaint and a conviction. A super- 
intendent cannot justly condemn a principal merely 
because complaints are made of him. On the con- 
trary, it is the superintendent's duty to condemn 
the principal if investigated complaints convict 
him of wrongdoing. 

If a superintendent considers a complaint at all, 
he should do so seriously, and investigate it im- 
partially. For instance, a teacher should always 
have the right of appeal x from the decisions of the 

1 The San Francisco method is so admirable that it is given here 
in full : 

"Any teacher, or other employee of the school department, act- 
ing under the jurisdiction of a principal, shall have the right to report 
in writing above his or her signature, in an unsealed communication 
addressed to the Board and placed in the hands of the principal 
for transmission to the latter, any and all violations of the Rules 
of the Board of which he or she may be cognizant ; in the same 
manner, to request from the Board an instruction or ruling for his 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE AUTHORITIES 81 

principal ; but this does not mean that the superin- 
tendent will gossip with a teacher about her prin- 
cipal, sympathize with her in her criticism of him, 
or give an offhand verdict against him. The prin- 
cipal, in this as in all cases, should be given due 
notice of the complaint and an opportunity to be 
heard. Only after all the evidence is in should the 
superintendent render any decision. 

Principal's procedure in case of improper super- 
vision. It is in one or more of these three directions 

or her guidance, in any matter of consequence concerning the 
discipline or welfare of the school department, not specifically 
provided for in the rules of the Board. 

"It shall be the duty of principals to acquaint themselves with 
the contents of all such unsealed communications addressed to the 
Board, which they may receive, indorsing same with the word 
'forwarded/ and transmit the same to the Secretary of the Board 
within twenty-four hours from the time of receipt. 

" Complaints, reports or requests for instruction coming in this 
way to the Board of Education, will be dealt with on their merits, 
to the end that justice, harmony and good discipline may prevail 
throughout the school department, but in no instance shall the 
Board fail to condemn, censure, or subject to its disciplinary 
action, the maker of any false, frivolous, or malicious charge or 
allegation affecting employees of the school department or others." 
— 148. 

Superintendent Roncovieri states that they "feel that it is a 
good rule, although not used extensively, for the reason that it 
gives every teacher an opportunity to have her say." 



§2 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

that a superintendent is most liable to violate the 
rules of supervision. The occasional slip, unim- 
portant and clearly unintentional, the principal is 
under no obligation to recognize or resent ; but where 
the violations are made continually, the principal, 
for the sake of his school, cannot afford to overlook 
them. 1 

In a case of this sort the principal's duty is to 
present his view of the matter first of all to the 
superintendent himself. If it concerns unneces- 
sarily detailed supervision, he will present the 
academic argument against it, reenforced by spe- 
cific instances of such supervision having impaired 
the work of his school and the progress of the pupils. 
If it concerns failure to recognize the administrative 
headship of the principal, he will show that such 
procedure is wasteful, and may cite, as an analogy, 
the discipline in well-ordered organizations other 
than school systems, and his own attitude toward 
his teachers (see p. 102). If it concerns the expres- 

1 1 do not consider the extreme case, happily rare but unfor- 
tunately existent, where a superintendent, or anyone else in 
authority, brings personal animus into his dealings with a subor- 
dinate. Such a condition, like any other crisis in the life of an 
individual, simply throws him back upon his fundamental re- 
sources of personal and private philosophy. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE AUTHORITIES 83 

sion of ex parte judgments, he will present his 
appeal for justice and fair play and for judicial pro- 
cedure in the investigation of complaints. 

If the principal finds that the superintendent per- 
sists in ignoring his presentment, it is clearly his duty 
to appeal to the next higher authority, and, if neces- 
sary, by virtue of his general duty, to public opinion. 
He must be courteous, dignified, and dispassionate 
in his procedure. He will be guided by certain 
general considerations ; he will take into account 
local conditions ; he will balance his duty to con- 
serve the equilibrium of his school, which would 
lead him to postpone action until the strain ap- 
proaches the breaking point, against his duty to 
conserve the integrity of his school, which demands 
administration along lines of rational policy; he 
will stand upon the ground that " the right of 
appeal is an essential feature of democracy " ; l 
he will subordinate personal considerations, — such as 
his natural and legitimate ambition to win favor from 
his superiors, — to the conscientious performance of 
his duty toward his pupils ; and he will profit by 

1 Seattle provides "The right of appeal to the Board of Directors 
shall in no case be denied to pupil, principal, teacher, or janitor." 
— XIV, 2. 



84 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

the wrong attitude of his superior by reexamining 
himself to see that he, in turn, is maintaining the 
proper attitude toward his subordinates. 1 

Two methods of interpreting orders. The prin- 
cipal, charged with carrying out the orders of his 
superior officers, finds two divergent methods of 
interpretation and action open to him : he may 
be either a strict constructionist or a loose con- 
structionist. The principal should adopt a con- 
sistent policy along one line or the other. If he is 
a strict constructionist, he will endeavor to obey 
to the letter every rule and every instruction from 
higher authority; if a loose constructionist, he 
will justify exercising his own judgment on the 
ground of the public interest. Following either 
course, he is likely to encounter trouble. In the 
one case, there will come a time when his obedience 
displeases his superior and he is accused of error 
in judgment in spite of his technical righteousness ; 
in the other case, he will be told that no exercise of 
his own judgment can condone official disobedience. 
The principal's predicament is somewhat analogous 
to that of the locomotive engineer under orders to 

1 Cf. the principal's attitude toward his own mistakes (p. 27) 
and his attitude toward teachers (p. 102). 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE AUTHORITIES 85 

obey a hundred rules and regulations, compliance 
with which would make impossible his maintaining 
the schedule provided for his train : if he disobeys, 
he courts disaster and the wreck of his train ; if 
he obeys, his train is always late and he loses his 
position. 

One superintendent censured his principals by circular 
letter because many of them, complying with the rules 
of the school board, dismissed their pupils at noon in the 
midst of a heavy storm. Part of his letter read : " Prin- 
cipals should use proper discretion in the interpretation 
of this [sic] by-law. The noon intermission could have 
been held from 12 : 30 until 1 : 30 p.m., or even from 1 
until 2 ; and the afternoon session from 1 : 30 until 3 p.m., 
or from 2 until 3 p.m. The children should not have been 
sent into the street during a violent rainstorm." With 
the censure omitted, the superintendent's letter could 
very properly have served as a ruling to cover future 
contingency. A rainstorm is not so rare an event as to 
be unforeseen by the framers of by-laws and regulations. 1 
There was, however, no authority given to the principal 

1 St. Louis, for example: "When at the close of a morning 
session there is unexpectedly a violent rain or storm, and there is 
danger that the health of the children might suffer if they were 
allowed to go home, the Principal may hold an 'Inclement weather 
session.' In such case there shall be a noon recess of twenty 
minutes, and the school shall be closed at half-past two o'clock 
p.m." — 3, XV. 



86 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

by by-laws to change the session periods ; nor did the 
board, subsequent to the incident cited, amend its by- 
laws to give this authority to the principals. In the 
opinion of the superintendent the principals should have 
exercised discretion, but if they were to exercise discre- 
tion in the interpretation of certain other by-laws which 
are printed in the manual in type of the same size as the 
rule as to sessions, the superintendent would doubtless 
censure them for disobedience. 

The safest course. The principal cannot justify 
disobedience of instructions because his own opinion 
or his interpretation of public opinion does not 
indorse them. The responsibility rests upon those 
who issue the instructions, and the principal should 
permit them to carry the burden and be content in 
shouldering his own responsibilities, which are by 
no means few or unimportant. 

The principal's safest course is to reduce the 
problem to its lowest terms, and to act as a strict 
constructionist except under the stress of an emer- 
gency. He will give absolute obedience to all in- 
structions except when, in an emergency evidently 
unforeseen by the author of the instructions, it would 
endanger the pupils. This reduces the principal's 
responsibility to the justification of his judgment as 
to what constitutes an " emergency." 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE AUTHORITIES 87 

Summary. The principal's relationship with in- 
dividual members of the school board is indirect 
and informal ; with his educational superior officer, 
the superintendent, it is direct and formal. To the 
superintendent he owes allegiance, and he is justified 
in expecting a corresponding allegiance from the 
superintendent. The principal must be recognized 
as the administrative head of his school, he must be 
left free to deal with details, and he must not be 
prejudged on ex parte evidence. In his school the 
principal is the executive agent of the authorities 
above him. Directions to teachers and pupils 
must come through his office. He must obey orders 
literally except in the case of unforeseen emergencies. 



CHAPTER V 

THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 

Securing the best teachers. No principal, how- 
ever competent, can make a success of his school 
unless he has a teaching force able to give his ideals 
actual classroom expression. It is essential that 
he gather around him strong teachers. This he 
can do only by being strong himself. He must 
establish for himself such a reputation for profes- 
sional ability and for just and considerate treat- 
ment, that teachers will, when they have an option, 
choose to work in the school over which he presides. 
Under whatever system of appointment the princi- 
pal works, whenever added effort will secure a better 
teacher, he must make the effort. 

The personal equation of course enters ; each principal 
will have his own teacher ideal. Teacher A may be 
excellent in the estimate of principal X, but not in that 
of principal F. Teacher B may be as good a teacher, 
and yet not have the qualifications most esteemed by 
principal X, though she is entirely satisfactory to prin- 
cipal Y. It is clear that X should get A into his school, 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 89 

and F should get B ; yet frequently the reverse happens, 
by reason of the system of appointment or the difficulty 
of effecting transfers, or because of the neglect or indif- 
ference of the principals concerned. 

The ideal teacher. Even under the best of con- 
ditions, the principal seldom finds the ideal teacher ; 
yet he will, more or less consciously, have an ideal in 
mind, against which he measures all candidates. 

The subject of the ideal teacher has been a favorite 
theme with the pedagogical essayists. An extended 
chapter could scarcely encompass their mosaic manipu- 
lations of nouns and adjectives. A good idea of what is 
expected of a teacher may be gained by reading the 
forms provided for reports on teachers. In Richmond, 
for example, the principal reports on the following items : 

I. Physical Efficiency 

General impression; health; voice; energy; 
endurance. 
II. Morals — Native Efficiency 

Self-control ; optimism ; enthusiasm ; tact ; 
industry; earnestness; adaptability to situa- 
tions of administration ; sense of humor ; dis- 
cernment of motive in administration. 
III. Administrative Efficiency 

Initiative; promptness in response; accuracy 
(in school detail, in reporting incidents) ; econ- 
omy (time, property). 



go THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

IV. Dynamic Efficiency 

Preparation (intellectual capacity, academic or 
foundational education, professional training) ; 
professional attitude and interest; apprecia- 
tion of intellectual, social, and moral values; 
instructional skill (attention and interest of 
pupils, vitality of instruction, organization 
and presentation of subject, eliciting pupil's 
contribution and participation, effective use of 
materials and apparatus, assignment of work, 
government — discipline). 
V. Achieved Efficiency 

Respect of pupils and community ; leadership 
— stimulation of individuals and community; 
school achievement. 

VI. Social Efficiency 

Visits to homes of pupils ; assisted in clubs, en- 
tertainments, games, etc., intramural interests ; 
extramural interests (cultural, civic, athletic, 
philanthropic, religious). 

The teacher is the product of the two factors, 
native ability and training. Her natural equip- 
ment consists of her physique, 1 and that " vague, 

1 "Any person appointed teacher or principal must pass a physi- 
cal examination given by the Medical Director of the Board of 
Education, who shall certify that the person is in sound physical 
health. If such a certificate cannot be secured, a contract shall not 
be issued." — Detroit, III, 2. This is the practice in many cities. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 91 

indefinite, spiritual quality/' which we call per- 
sonality ; her training gives her formal scholarship, 
general culture, and the more special equipment of 
professional and technical education. But it is only 
the actual test in the classroom that can demon- 
strate a teacher's value. Even an experienced super- 
visor, in forming his opinion of a teacher when 
limited to a conference with her, will occasionally 
err in his judgment as to her actual worth. 

Assigning the teacher. Having secured the near- 
est available approach to the ideal teacher, the 
principal must next see that she is assigned to the 
work for which she is best fitted. If the round pegs 
are in the square holes and the square pegs in the 
round holes, any organization will lack stability 
and effectiveness. Accordingly, the principal will 
study to place each teacher where she can give the 
most to the school and at the same time be content 
and cheerful through interest in her work. As a 
rule, the inexperienced teacher should be given 
neither the first-year pupils nor those of the higher 
grades; and if there are all-boys' and all-girls' 
classes in the school, she should be given a class of 
girls. Yet there is an occasional beginner who seems 
immediately fitted for service in a difficult class of 



92 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

boys, in which case the school should not lose her 
service by reason of any rigid rule of assignment. 
It is often advantageous to consult teachers as to 
their preferences and their estimates of their own 
aptitudes. 1 

Knowing the teachers. It is important for the 
principal to know his teachers. Kipling's subaltern 
in the Brushwood Boy is advised : " Get to know 
your men, young un, and they'll follow you any- 
where. That's all you want — know your men.' 7 
The success of a school depends in large measure 
upon the intimacy established between the principal 
and his teachers. If the relation is merely the 

1 San Francisco provides: "(a) At the close or at the beginning 
of the school year, principals shall classify their schools, assigning 
teachers to the class for which they consider them best fitted, 
sending reports of said classification within two weeks thereafter 
to the Board and to the Superintendent. Such assignments shall 
be subject to the approval of the Board." — 48. 

"Principals shall annually so assign teachers to classrooms that 
they shall alternate in the occupancy of desirable and undesirable 
rooms, avoiding as far as possible changes which will require 
moving desks." — 49. 

Portland, Ore., provides "Teachers in elementary schools shall 
be elected as assistants but shall not be assigned to grades or 
classes. Their assignment shall be left to the city superintendent 
of schools, who is hereby instructed to assign teachers so that 
pupils may remain with their respective teachers an entire year 
wherever practicable." — VII. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 93 

formal business of the teacher rendering so many 
hours' service and the principal certifying that she 
has not shirked her work, the school may be well 
run, but it will lack that finer element which we call 
atmosphere. A cordial interest shown by the 
principal in the personal and professional welfare 
of his teachers — a personal friendship that knows 
their ambitions, hopes, and limitations, and a 
professional comradery that implies a sympathetic 
understanding of their daily problems — will bring 
about a maximum of effective result with a minimum 
of nerve strain for all concerned. 

Relation with teachers. The underlying duty 
of the principal toward his teachers is to help them 
serve their pupils; in proportion as he impresses 
upon them his ability and willingness to do this, he 
will have the loyal support of his staff, and, in con- 
sequence, his school will be recognized as doing 
much for its pupils. The formal assistance which 
he gives to teachers will be considered at some 
length later; let us first note the more informal 
phase of the relation between principal and teachers. 

"The principal's first duty is to his teachers, to help 
them grow professionally. ... In the performance of this 
duty he is subject to all the principles of method to which 



94 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

they are subject, and should illustrate them continually 
in his contact with them. For that reason, he cannot 
be merely a judge of instruction, an inspector ; for, as 
such, he only passes upon the quality of a teacher's work, 
without aiding her greatly to improve. Nor can he be 
a dictator, merely giving her directions about what to 
do ; for as such he emphasizes obedience in intellectual 
matters, and thus puts restraint about her, while it is his 
duty to make her feel free. He is prevented from assum- 
ing these relations to his teachers, for the same reasons 
that they are prevented from assuming them toward 
their pupils. His general relation to his teachers, there- 
fore, is that of an adviser, basing his advice on reason, 
and granting their right to reject it. This relationship 
is especially worthy of emphasis in a great system of 
schools, where uniformity in matters not pertaining to 
instruction is of the highest importance." 1 

The new teacher. The principal should have a 

conference with the newly appointed teacher in 

which he outlines the ideals for the school, indicates 

what her contributions may be, and gives her 

appropriate advice and caution. The new teacher 

for some time will need and will welcome detailed 

and specific practical directions for her classroom 

guidance. As she grows in professional skill and 

1 Frank M. McMurry, Report on School Inquiry, New York, 
1911-13, vol. 1, p. 335. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 95 

strength, the principal will less and less restrict 
her, and more and more urge and encourage her to 
express herself in her work. The result will be that 
as she progresses in years of service she makes a 
proportionate advance in personal growth and 
culture. 1 On one hand he will commend improve- 
ment in her work whenever he can, praise rather than 
censure, and by an example of cheerful optimism 
guide her over the rough places of her day's work. 
On the other hand, he will not let her settle into a 
smug conceit that she has " finished " her training 
and may spend the balance of her career running in 
one well-oiled groove. By example and precept 
the principal will encourage his colaborers to self- 
culture ; maintaining an up-to-date teachers' library, 
stirring teachers to develop outside interests that 
will enlarge their horizon and broaden their sym- 
pathies, leading them to recognize the need of out- 
door exercise, encouraging them to make profitable 
friendships, stimulating them to independent study 

1 "All teachers will be diligent students of the science and art 
of education through the use of the pedagogical as well as other 
departments of the public library and the standard periodicals of 
the day. All opportunities for special or general culture which 
are within their reach and means should be employed for the 
furtherance of this end." — Cleveland, 12. 



96 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

and thinking, and sending them to visit other 
schools. 

A few cities are advancing toward the idea of a sab- 
batical year. New York, Detroit, and some others, grant 
a leave of absence not exceeding one year, but without 
pay. Rochester makes more liberal provision. "Any 
teacher or principal who shall have served the city of 
Rochester for seven years, may, on recommendation of 
the Superintendent and with the approval of the Board 
of Education, be granted leave of absence for study or 
travel," on certain conditions. "Such leave shall not 
be granted for less than one full semester, nor shall it 
exceed one year in duration. It shall not be granted more 
than once in eight consecutive years." "Salary during 
such leave shall be one-half the applicant's regular salary, 
but in no event shall it exceed one thousand dollars." 

A few cities are getting the benefits of exchange of 
teachers. Superintendent Alderman, of Portland, Ore., 
in his Annual Report, 191 6-17, says, "Our plan of ex- 
change of teachers with other cities was carried on last 
year with highly gratifying results. Last year we had 
exchanges with school systems in the states of Massachu- 
setts, New York and Ohio. This year we are to have an 
exchange with Chicago, the first city of its size to recog- 
nize our system of exchange." 

Visiting schools. Visitation of other schools by 
teachers should neither be neglected nor done 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 97 

perfunctorily. The Board of Education of Roch- 
ester " deems it the professional duty of every 
teacher to visit other schools/ ' A teacher may 
gain by seeing better work than she herself is doing, 
getting the stimulus to do better work herself; or, 
if she is an excellent teacher and is in a temporary 
despair over her work, she may regain her self-con- 
fidence by learning that other teachers likewise 
suffer. In either case she should visit in the right 
spirit, knowing what she is going out for, getting it 
if she can, and if not, getting what she can. 1 
1 Oakland calls for a report in the following form : 
Oakland Public Schools 
Teacher's Professional Visitation Report 
Date Teacher's Signature School Grade or Subject 

Grades or classes Names of teachers Time of 

visited visited Visits 



Suggestions for improvement and development from above 
visits. 

1 

2 

3 

etc. 

The following suggestions as to visitation are offered by the 

Board of Superintendents, New York City : 

Time : Mondays and Fridays are not usually the best days for 
visiting. The first fortnight and the last fortnight of a term are 
valueless for this purpose, as is the day preceding or following a 
holiday. 



q8 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Three kinds of teacher. The principal finds 
that his teachers are of three kinds, — those who do, 
those who don't, and those who neither do nor don't. 
He will have to curb the first, prod the second, and 
labor with the third. 

i. The painstaking teacher. Many a painstaking, 
successful teacher contracts that disease which, 

Who : Inexperienced teachers should first visit classes taught 
by excellent teachers in their own school. If inexperienced 
teachers are sent to another school, it is advisable, at times, to 
send them with the experienced grade leader. Excellent teachers 
are frequently stimulated by visits to other schools. 

Attitude: The visiting teacher should disturb the regular 
work of the class as little as possible. All conferences should take 
place during intermissions, or after school hours. There should 
be a feeling on the part of both the class teacher and the visitor 
that the object of visiting is self -improvement. The attitude 
should be that of the student, and not that of the critic. Visiting 
teachers should be willing to observe the work of the class as it is 
being pursued. 

Report : When a teacher returns from a visit, an oral report 
should be made to the principal. If anything new or worth while 
has been seen, it should be made a part of the calendar of the next 
teachers' conference in that school. 

What to Note : It is suggested that each principal devise a 
form that will instruct and guide the visiting teacher in methods 
of observation or inspection of work. Such instructions may 
include a few or all of the following : 

i. Classes and subjects observed. 

2. Outline of lesson, or plan of presentation and development. 

3. Was the work observed primarily a teaching, drilling, or 
testing exercise? 

4. What were the good points in the manner, methods, and 
spirit of the teacher visited? 

5. Cooperation between teacher and pupils. 

6. What good books, illustrative material, teaching aids and 
devices did you notice? 

7. Helpful suggestions for work in your own class. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 99 

for lack of a more expressive title, I must call 
" schoolitis." In her conscientious devotion and 
zeal she is eating, drinking, and sleeping " school." 
She takes home armfuls of spelling papers, composi- 
tions, and other written material, and pores over 
them into the late evening, coming to school the 
next day after a restless night. The principal must 
diagnose such a case promptly, and apply the 
remedies heroically. The teacher must be trained 
to stay in school after session long enough to finish 
properly the day's work and to prepare for the work 
of the following day. No papers are to be taken out 
of the building. When the teacher locks her desk, 
she must lock in it all the irritating details of the 
school day, and walk out into the open air with a 
mind free from anxiety for the morrow. She must 
get a complete change of atmosphere during the 
evening, seeking recreation and pleasure, and enjoy 
a night's wholesome sleep. Her value to her class 
the next day will, in consequence, be far in excess 
of what it would have been had she corrected five 
times as many papers at the expense of a serious 
drain on her vitality. 1 

1 "Never take any work home from school ! What cannot be 
done at the desk should be hired out. The money will be more 



ioo THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

The time consumed and the labor involved in the 
teacher's correction of pupils' written work during what 
should be her recuperating hours are not the only counts 
against the practice. Perhaps the most serious feature 
is that the teacher is deliberately reliving the events of 
the day. Each paper she takes up, each blot, each crease, 
each erasure, is likely to recall an incident of the day's 
work that might better be forgotten. Once is usually as 
many times as any particular school day should be lived. 

2. The neglectful teacher. Occasionally a teacher 

is willfully or carelessly neglectful of her work. 

profitably spent than if put into the contribution box of a church 
or the strong box of a lyceum lecturer. . . . Do not live or mix 
with other teachers. . . . Don't talk shop. Of all shop-talk, 
school-shop is the dullest to an outsider. 

"A teacher ought to know folks. Books will not do, even the 
best of them. You are not teaching little books how to become 
nice big books, but young humans how to become fine men and 
women." — Katherine Kingsley Crosby, "The Teacher and 
Herself " in Educational Review, November, 19 14. 

Superintendent Carlos M. Cole, of Denver, circularizes his 
principals as follows: "Extra work after school is bad for the 
teacher as well as the child. The teacher cannot be in good con- 
dition for the following day's work if the custom of keeping school 
after hours is persistently maintained. Teachers should give 
classes the very best within their power during the school hours, 
and after school hours should be content to leave the buildings 
within an hour after the time of dismissal. Teachers owe it to the 
children to be in good physical and mental condition. Buoyancy 
of spirit and happiness mean much to the young, and such a con- 
dition obtains only when teachers are not overworked." 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 101 

Usually her neglect is due to a lack of a sense 
of responsibility. A common type of the neg- 
lectful teacher is one who has merely stumbled 
into the vocation, and, consciously or unconsciously, 
regards it as a makeshift or means of temporary 
employment. She — more probably it is he — may 
be making teaching merely a source of income while 
preparing for some more congenial or more remu- 
nerative profession. Or her first interest may be in 
the social life, with teaching but a painfully neces- 
sary incident to be borne as lightly as possible until 
matrimony rescues. Such teachers almost always 
have positive native qualities, earnestness, energy, 
determination, cheerfulness, and the like. All that 
is necessary is to bring the teacher to a realizing 
sense of her responsibilities and the seriousness of 
her position. Then she must be dealt with un- 
flinchingly. If she does not come to put her ener- 
gies into the right direction the principal must move 
promptly to force her out. Neglect of duty is a 
generally recognized index of inefficiency, and is a 
form of incompetence that can most readily be 
proven when a formal charge is made. 

3. The colorless teacher. The teacher who is 
negatively rather than positively good or bad, who 



102 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

is passive, indifferent, and colorless, is a serious 
problem. Frequently, circumstances are such that 
she cannot be classed as incompetent and dismissed 
on this charge ; nor can she be regarded as a positive 
and profitable force in the school. With such a 
teacher the principal can only struggle as best he 
may, charging her to " profit and loss " on the 
school ledger, and reconciling himself, if necessary, 
by remembering that " the poor ye have always 
with you." 

Principal's attitude toward teachers. By way 
of approach to the more formal methods of assisting 
teachers, let us consider the official attitude of the 
principal toward them. 

Respect for the teacher's authority. The prin- 
cipal must make it a point at all times to respect 
the authority of the teacher. She must be recog- 
nized, and must be taught to recognize herself, as 
the administrative head of her class, just as the 
principal is the acknowledged administrative head 
of his school. Indeed, the principal should be, if 
anything, less jealous of his own administrative 
authority than he is solicitous to respect that of 
the class teacher. The concrete application of this 
principle in the presence of pupils does much, 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 103 

through the creation of an atmosphere, to further 
the general good discipline of the school. 

For instance, in going into a classroom to make an an- 
nouncement to the pupils, the principal will interrupt 
the teacher and the work of the class only after saying, 
" Excuse me, Miss Blank ; I wish to make an announce- 
ment to the class," or using some similar expression. 
When he wishes to send a pupil on an errand, he will ask 
permission to do so of the teacher of the class, and pos- 
sibly leave it to her to decide which pupil is to be selected. 
If the principal wishes to know whether a certain boy is 
in a certain class, he will not bolt into the room with the 
inquiry addressed to the class. He will quietly ask Miss 
Blank if the boy is there ; if he is, and the principal wishes 
to speak to him, he will ask Miss Blank to call the boy 
to the front. 

Care about such apparently unimportant matters may 
seem like unnecessary nicety, but it is care which yields 
much in results. The principal sacrifices none of his 
authority. The teacher knows well enough that the 
principal has the " right" to do these things in the more 
direct and abrupt way. She must already have gained 
a respect for him through his demonstrated ability ; and 
these little courtesies in no way diminish that respect. 

The large man does not need to advertise his 
authority ; it is only the small man who is constantly 
parading his power. The pupils are keen to note 



104 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

that the teacher has an authority which even the 
principal respects, and their own respect for that 
authority is thus enlarged. The consistent practice 
of formal courtesy in dealing with teachers is one 
means by which the principal gives notice to the 
pupils, and particularly to the pupils inclined to be 
unruly, that he stands constantly ready to support 
the teacher in maintaining discipline. 

Not only will the principal respect the teacher's 
authority when in the presence of pupils, but he will 
further recognize her individuality in all his official 
dealings with her. At conferences he will defer to 
her judgment and carefully weigh her contributions. 
He will encourage her to express herself in her class- 
room methods and defend her own ideas, even when 
they are at variance with his. 

Nevertheless, there is much that the principal 
can do in the planning of teachers' work, in the 
interest of both teachers and pupils. Carrying out 
plans involves instructing teachers, and this subject 
demands consideration. 

Instructing teachers. All instructions to teachers 
should be definite and to the point. The fewer 
they are, the more likely are they to be respected. 
They should not be hastily issued, but should be the 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 105 

result of deliberation, and should be reasonable and 
justifiable. In any system the teacher should at all 
times have the right of appeal from the decisions of 
the principal. Good teachers will never appeal from 
reasonable orders. If an order is likely to seem in 
any way mysterious, it is wise, whenever practicable, 
to explain the reason for issuing it. The right of 
principals to issue unexplained orders is not ques- 
tioned, but teachers appreciate the principal's 
taking them into his confidence, and respond more 
heartily to directions whose justification they 
thoroughly understand. 

Orders versus suggestions. Teachers should be 
trained to distinguish between orders and sugges- 
tions, and the principal's statements should be so 
phrased as to show clearly which they are. For 
example, the principal may order teachers to report 
for a certain duty at a certain time. If they willfully 
fail to comply with this direction, they are guilty 
of insubordination and may be treated accordingly. 
He may suggest that teaching a certain geography 
lesson with a globe is better than teaching it with a 
map. If a teacher fails to follow this suggestion, 
she is in no sense insubordinate, and, provided her 
preference for the other method is sincere, she should 



106 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

not be criticized for disregarding the principals 
suggestion. If the principal should conclude that 
there are sufficient reasons why his method ought 
to be followed, then he may prescribe that method 
and direct its use, which would completely change 
the character of the action of any teacher who 
then insisted on using the contrary method. 

Written instructions. Instructions may be writ- 
ten or oral. If they need little explanation, or if 
they are of permanent value or of special importance 
even temporarily, they should be written, and their 
receipt acknowledged by each teacher. 1 The value 
of such receipt is that the principal can readily 

1 Instruction sheets should never be circulated by means of a 
pupil-monitor except in the case of notices which are to be read by 
the teachers to their pupils. It is well to caution the teachers 
generally as follows: "Do not permit pupils to see notices to 
teachers. Do not take them into your confidence as to any of the 
limitations put upon school officers and teachers." 

Miss Kate Van Wagenen, principal, Public School 53, Man- 
hattan, New York, suggests the following practice: "When 
information is desired from each class, the teacher is requested to 
have this ready by a certain hour, when it will be called for. There 
are captains on each floor and each one understands that when 
a notice for information appears on the bulletin boards, she is to 
collect at the hour mentioned and transmit promptly to the office. 
If the information is not ready, the captain checks up the teachers 
and then the principal gets the information promptly without 
sending to the laggards for it." 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 107 

check up the circulation of his instruction sheet, 
and also can convince the forgetful teacher who 
has failed to comply with a particular instruction 
that the fault is her own. The circular instructions 
should be kept by the principal for some time for 
reference and retrospective study. Their preserva- 
tion also provides against the rare but troublesome 
case of the willfully insubordinate teacher against 
whom the principal may have to prefer charges, in 
which event the written acknowledgment of the 
receipt of instructions becomes valuable evidence. 

The fundamental code of instructions may profitably 
be formulated in a multigraphed set of General Regula- 
tions with the preamble, " All teachers will please comply 
with the following regulations : — " and listing all the 
important rules of a permanent character that teachers 
are to follow, such as those applying to teachers' absence, 
records, visitation of other schools, correspondence with 
parents, classroom visitors, care of classroom, of equip- 
ment, and of books, detention of pupils, punishment of 
pupils, pupils leaving the room, etc. Each teacher, upon 
beginning service in the school, should be provided with 
a copy of the General Regulations. An effective method 
of calling the attention of a teacher to her violation of 
one of the rules is to send her a fresh and marked 
copy. 

Supplementary instructions, if issued in uniform size 



io8 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

and arrangement, can be conveniently kept by each 
teacher in a loose-leaf cover. 1 

Oral instructions. Oral instructions are given 
to teachers individually, or to various groups. 
The teachers' meeting should be for either instruc- 
tion or conference, and it is well to emphasize the 
distinction. When it is for the giving of instructions 
only, the teachers should clearly so understand it. 
The principal should be careful in giving such 
instructions not to wander, and yet to take time 
enough to clear up any difficulties. 

The teachers' conference. As for the conference, 
suggestions to the principal are : 

i. Do not have too many meetings. 2 An occasional, 
enthusiastic conference is worth more than several 
formal meetings coming at stated and frequent intervals. 

1 New Haven, however, provides that principals "shall main- 
tain, in every school building, in a place convenient of access for 
all teachers and pupils, a school bulletin board upon which shall 
be placed notices and information which are of general importance 
to the school. They shall not allow the circulation of notices of 
any sort from room to room or from teacher to teacher through 
the school, nor shall they allow pupils to pass from room to room 
giving notices, exhibiting articles that have been found or soliciting 
information about articles lost. All information, notices and in- 
quiries of this nature shall be placed upon the bulletin board. ' ' — 1 93 . 

2 Many cities prescribe the number of meetings. For example, 
New Orleans: The principal "shall hold a teachers' meeting 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 109 

2. Encourage teachers to talk. Emphasize the 
thought that a conference is not a monologue, and that 
all are invited and expected to contribute. It ought 
not to be possible for a teacher to leave a meeting with 
the remark, justly made, " Another hour wasted." 

3. Be patient with the diffident teachers or those of 
slower understanding ; get their viewpoint and sympa- 
thize with their limitations and their endeavors. 

4. Do not let the subject get away. While general 
discussion is to be encouraged, it must be kept germane 
to the subject in hand. 

5. Get something for yourself. It must be accounted 
an unsatisfactory meeting if you do not bring from it 
some new idea, some fresh impulse, or some happy in- 
spiration, which shall in time react upon your school. 

As to the comparative value of the different-sized 
groups, it may be said that (1) in the school con- 
ference the principal will exercise his larger influence, 
establish his standards, set forth his ideals, and 
create his atmosphere; (2) in the grade or group 
conference, he will do his most effective detailed 

within the week following the second Friday of each school month, 
and such other meetings as he may deem to be of advantage to the 
efficiency and discipline of his school." — XII, 17. 

Cleveland, on its "Teacher's Personal Report," has the items 
"Number Times Absent from Teachers' Meetings," and "Number 
Times Tardy at Teachers' Meetings" with the direction "State 
on reverse page causes of irregularities marked." 



no THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

work ; and (3) in the individual conference, he will 
correct the personal errors, encourage the faltering 
teacher, and inspire the strong to further suc- 
cesses. 

Criticism. This leads to that particular form 
of instruction, criticism. The principal should not 
criticize a teacher at all until he has carefully 
thought out the matter ; but having decided that 
criticism is needed, he must administer it promptly 
and courageously. It must always be given in a 
judicial, dispassionate attitude ; never should the 
shortcoming of the teacher be construed as an 
offense against the principal. Never should the 
principal make an ex parte judgment ; he should be 
sure of his ground before treading on it. Never 
should he criticize, and rarely should he instruct, 
teachers in the presence of their pupils. 1 The 
individual transgressor among the teachers should 
be dealt with individually ; she and her transgression 
should not be reached through a general criticism 
applied to all. 

Oral criticism is usually more satisfactory than 

1 "Principals must at all times address their teachers in a 
courteous manner, and under no circumstances must they repri- 
mand, adversely criticize or do anything that will humiliate a 
teacher in the presence of the pupils." — San Francisco, 32,9. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS in 

written. The written note is cold, formal, and often 
misleading. The conference gives opportunity for 
question and answer and a better understanding. 
Verbal expression can give a sympathetic color to 
criticism which the written word cannot convey. 
In such a conference the principal must be frank and 
truthful. He must make his appeal to the teacher 
as her official adviser and personal friend, and lead 
her to correct herself rather than dogmatically to 
superimpose his own formal instructions. 

By deliberate planning the principal may help 
teachers to improve their work (i) on the quanti- 
tative side and (2) on the qualitative side. 

1. Improving work as to quantity. On the 
quantitative side, the chief lines of planning are : 

a. Uniform interpretation of the course of study. 

b. Subdivision of the work of the term. 

c. Teachers' records of plans and progress. 

d. Daily time schedules. 

a. Interpretation of the course of study. The 
principal works through a course of study established 
by higher authority for all the schools in the system. 
There can be great difference in the interpretation 
of the curriculum by different principals within the 
same system ; and the principal should, and usually 



112 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

does, have the authority to interpret and modify 
the course to suit the peculiar needs of his particular 
locality. It is his duty to see that teachers empha- 
size the proper topics in the course and do not lose 
time by a disproportionate attention to the relatively 
unimportant items. Teachers should be encouraged, 
when in doubt as to how intensively they should 
consider a topic in any subject, to ask the principal 
for a ruling. The principal's rulings, in turn, should, 
through their consistency, bring about a well- 
balanced treatment of all subjects throughout the 
successive grades of the school. 

b. Subdivision of the term's work. The work of 
the term should be subdivided, perhaps into each 
month's work, — probably not to any finer subdivi- 
sion, — in order: (i) that the teacher shall not 
mismanage her term's work by an incorrect estimate 
of the time it takes to cover various topics, for without 
such a plan she is apt to give too detailed attention 
throughout the early weeks of the term, to discover 
too late that the required work left undone cannot 
possibly be completed in the remaining days ; and 
(2) that the pupils in different classes of the same 
grade may work along approximately the same lines, 
taking up topics in about the same order, thus 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 113 

making easy the transfer of pupils from class to 
class within the grade during the term. 

Such subdivision of work should be planned by 
the principal and teachers of the grade working 
together. The teachers should be brought in, first, 
because they are intimately acquainted with the 
detail work and are usually able to counsel wisely ; 
and, secondly, because they will the more readily 
and successfully carry out a plan which they have 
helped to make. 

The resulting plan should be clear and definite, 
and yet not too detailed. Furthermore, it should be 
considered, as should all plans of the school, as 
tentative and subject to immediate change whenever 
such change is clearly advisable. At the begin- 
ning of each term the principal might well have a 
series of grade conferences in which the subdivision 
plans in each grade would be considered and amended 
to such an extent and in such manner as the expe- 
rience of the term past seemed to warrant. 

c. Plan and progress records. Teachers may be 
required to keep plan and progress books, the former 
by way of prophecy of the coming day's work, the 
latter to record fulfillment. In the plan book are 
to be set forth " in logical order from day to day the 



114 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

various facts and principles to be taught under each 
subject, with sufficient detail to illustrate clearly 
what is meant." The progress book, on the other 
hand, shows what has actually been accomplished. 1 
The two records may be kept separately or to- 
gether. 3 The chief points of value of plan and 
progress records are: (i) for the pupil, a more 
profitable recitation, more forceful and vigorous 
teaching, and more carefully selected and prepared 
work; (2) for the teacher, freedom from anxiety 

1 See " Progress Note Books and Group Teaching," by Charlotte 
E. Barnum, in Bulletin of the Brooklyn Training School for Teach- 
ers, January, 1918, presenting a plan by which is recorded the 
"progress of each individual child instead of attempting to 
state that of the class as a whole," "giving a maximum of 
information about each individual with a minimum of clerical 
work." 

Allied to this plan is the "Rabenort-Byrne Pupil Proficiency 
Chart" which "keeps before the pupil a graphic record of daily 
growth," ",makes the pupil self -critical by revealing the strong 
spots and the weak spots in his term record," and "silently 
convinces [ the pupil that the teacher does not promote or 
retard, but, that the pupil by his own record retards or pro- 
motes himself." Dr. William Rabenort is principal, Public 
School 55, The Bronx, New York City. Miss Mary B. C. 
Byrne is model teacher, Summer School of Observation, Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania. 

2 Some principals require each teacher to file a monthly state- 
ment showing "Work accomplished" in each subject. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 115 

as to what to do next, and the benefits that always 
accrue from careful preparation, since it is unwise 
for any teacher to attack a lesson trusting to the 
inspiration of the moment; (3) for the substitute, 
easy taking up of the precise work of the day; 
(4) for the principal, superintendent, or other 
visitor, a bird's-eye view of the teacher's and pupils' 
work. 

It is easy, however, to overdo the plan-book idea, 
as all other formulae, and a few cautions must be 
added as an offset to the above summary of ad- 
vantages. If the plan and progress books are in any 
degree elaborate in form and substance, (1) there 
is a tendency to regard the books as an end in them- 
selves instead of merely a means; (2) there may 
develop an indifference to class spirit and to the 
finer elements of class activity; (3) emphasis may 
seem to be placed on the pouring-in work of the 
teacher at the expense of response on the part of 
the pupils ; (4) the principal may be tempted to 
substitute an inspection of these books for an 
investigation of the actual work of the teacher 
and class. 

To secure the happy mean between no plan books 
and books which are too elaborate is an important 



n6 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

duty of the principal. 1 It is advisable to require 
different degrees of preparation by different teachers, 
demanding from the beginning teacher a more 
detailed plan and a more exact record of progress 
than from the more experienced teachers. 

For the experienced teacher the following form of 
plan book will prove sufficient. An ordinary memoran- 
dum book, about 4" by 6", with a horizontal ruling, 
indexed as shown, will give a line or two for each sub- 
ject and a double page for each day. 

1 Philadelphia provides teachers with the following form in 
loose-leaf : 



Teacher Grade, Room No. 

Lessons for week ending , 191 .... 



Topics tor Week 
(Only for branches indicated) 



Arithmetic : 
Language : . 
History : . . . 
Geography : 
Physiology : 



Daily Lessons 

(Prepare and record lessons, including music, drawing, gymnastics, 

etc., daily in advance) 

Monday 

[Followed by ample space, ruled. Tuesday also on the obverse 
side of the sheet and the three following days on the reverse] 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 117 



Throughout the day, as the work in any subject is 
completed, a concise note is made of what it is planned 
to take up the next day. By the close of the day the 
book is thus already written up for the following day. 
Entries in pencil are usually sufficient. The same book 
serves all necessary purposes as a progress book, because 




the difference between the work planned for any one day 
and for the day following will indicate the work accom- 
plished on the first of the two days. Emphasis on 
progress may be made by checking the items as the work 
is accomplished, or by checking in color, work which it 
was necessary to postpone to the following day. 



Il8 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

d. Daily time schedule, A daily program or 
time schedule is needed as a matter of system for 
the teacher, in order that she may properly pro- 
portion the minutes of the school day to the separate 
features of the work in hand. The program should 
be the product of the work of both the principal 
and the teachers concerned. He should prescribe 
the general principles, and they should work out 
the detail, subject to his final review and approval. 1 

The following principles should be observed in 
the construction of the time schedule : 

i. The time schedule must be mathematically 
correct. If the school time of the week or month is, 
by schedule issued by the school board or the super- 
intendent, allotted to the different subjects in the 
curriculum, the aggregate time for each subject on 
the daily schedule must agree with the authorized 
totals. 

2. Unassigned time, if allotted by the author- 

1 The required practice varies in different cities. Respon- 
sibility for the program is usually placed specifically upon the 
principal. Portland, Ore., however, provides that "The teacher 
of each grade shall prepare a program of daily exercises, a copy 
of which shall be kept posted on the inside and another copy on 
the outside of her schoolroom door." Some cities place the duty 
upon the teachers, with the proviso that the programs shall be ap- 
proved by the principal, and sometimes, too, by the superintendent. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 119 

ized schedule, must be wisely distributed in the 
daily program, in accordance with local needs. 

3. The schedules for the various classes must 
be so arranged as to avoid conflict of recesses, 
assemblies, and other group or general exercises. 

4. The number of subjects daily and the length 
of time given to each must be regulated and varied 
according to the grade of the class. Pupils in lower 
grades need frequent change of occupation, with 
periods not too long to be exhausting. Higher grade 
pupils take longer periods, — up to forty or fifty min- 
utes, — which reduces the daily number of subjects. 

5. There should be a proper distribution of 
subjects, an alternation, first, of those which in- 
volve different phases of effort on the part of the 
pupil, and secondly, of those which are taxing, 
including writing, spelling, basal reading, drill 
arithmetic, etc., and those which are relaxing. It 
would appear that there is in the human individual 
a fairly regular alternation of maxima and minima of 
vital energy ; and that the periods of maxima are ap- 
proximately from 9 : 30 to 1 1 : 00, both morning and 
afternoon, and the two periods of minima approxi- 
mately from 3 to 4, both morning and afternoon. 
Failure to take this fact into account may result 



120 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

in pupils becoming fatigued beyond the point of 
normality. 

Fatigue is a physical matter, concerned with brain 
cells, motor centers, muscles, etc. It is not to be con- 
fused with weariness, ennui, or boredom, which is psy- 
chological. Weariness may cause a subjective feeling 
of fatigue and hence may be mistaken for fatigue. One 
might listen for an hour to a lecture, perhaps on peda- 
gogy, and be "bored to death." It means that the 
speaker has been dull and uninspiring and the listener, 
who has been under a strain trying to keep awake for ap- 
pearance' sake, has gone away tired out. On the con- 
trary, the lecturer might hold and inspire his audience 
and carry them through an hour of close thinking with 
the result that they would be physically, though happily, 
tired out from the strain of continued attention. 

Work, under proper conditions, is healthful and neces- 
sary to well-being. The strain resulting from complete 
reaction to work, proper in kind and amount, is normal 
fatigue. Only when the toxins produced by fatigue are 
allowed to accumulate by an undue proportion of work 
to rest, and, perhaps, too, as the result of worry and 
other factors, does the fatigue become abnormal and 
dangerous. It is then pathological fatigue. 

The proper alternation of school subjects in the daily 
program serves to create the cadence of stress and respite 
which prevents fatigue from running to abnormality. 
Several studies concerning the relation of school work to 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 121 

fatigue have been made. The result is almost to con- 
vince us that the more we learn about fatigue the less 
we know. 

6. The degree of rigidity of the schedule may 
vary with the experience and ability of the teacher. 
The new teacher will need the detailed supervision 
that is involved in being required to adhere closely 
to an exact allotment of time and lessons. Such a 
teacher will have a schedule of the usual form, in 
which is indicated, for each day of the week, the 
exact order of all exercises and the time to be 
devoted to each. An excellent form is that in use 
in Worcester, Mass., shown on page 122. 

Liberal interpretation should be allowed to ex- 
perienced teachers. Conditions vary within a class 
from time to time. The physical environment, the 
weather, interruptions by visitors, special exercises, 
special absence of pupils in large number, and many 
other causes, contribute to make one Tuesday, for 
instance, quite different from another. The expe- 
rienced teacher may be trusted to evaluate these 
variations and to modify her day's program accord- 
ingly. For such a teacher a schedule may be pro- 
vided in which the number of minutes daily for each 
subject is prescribed and she is left free to make 



122 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 



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THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 123 

such distributions of the periods through the day 
as may seem best. 

The following is a convenient form : 

FLEXIBLE DAILY TIME SCHEDULE 



Class 
















Room 




Showing number of minutes to be devoted to each subject daily 


Monday 




Tuesday 




Wednesday 




Thursday 




Friday 




Opening 




Opening 




Opening 




Opening 




Opening 




Exercises 




Exercises 




Exercises 




Exercises 




Exercises 


, 


Physical 




Physical 




Physical 




Physical 




Physical 




Training 


_ 


Training 


_ 


Training 




Training 


_ 


Training 





Recess from 




Recess from 




Recess from 




Recess from 




Recess from 




. . . to . . . 




. . . to . . . 




. . . to . . . 




. . . to . . . 




. . . to . . . 





Games from 




Games from 




Games from 




Games from 




Games from 




. . . to . . . 




. . . to . . . 




. . . to . . . 




. . . to . . . 




. . . to . . . 





Shop, Cook- 




Shop, Cook- 




Shop, Cook- 




Shop, Cook- 




Shop, Cook- 




ing, Sew- 




ing, Sew- 




ing, Sew- 




ing, Sew- 




ing, Sew- 




ing, from 




ing, from 




ing, from 




ing, from 




ing, from 




... to . . . 




. . . to . . . 




. . . to . . . 




. . . to . . . 




. . . to . . . 


. 


Study 


— 


Study 


— 


Study 


— 


Study 


_ 


Study 


— 


Unassigned . 


- 


Unassigned . 


— 


Unassigned . 


— 


Unassigned . 


— 


Unassigned . 


— 


Total. . . 




Total. . . 




Total. . . 




Total . . . 




Total . . . 





In determining the order in which these subjects are to be taken, 
the teacher will exercise her judgment, remembering (1) that 
pupils are influenced by conditions which may differ from day to 
day ; (2) that subjects which are taxing and those which are relax- 
ing should be properly alternated ; and (3) that the curve of fatigue 
shows a minimum amount of energy available between n and 12. 

Teachers applying this schedule must remember (1) 
that relaxation may take the form of either rest or rec- 
reation ; (2) that gymnastics are not essentially relaxing, 
but, measured by the amount of normal fatigue produced, 
rank with the formal studies such as arithmetic and gram- 



124 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

mar ; (3) that five two-minute periods of setting-up exer- 
cises are more valuable as relaxation than a ten-minute 
period of physical culture ; and (4) that rest may come 
from change of occupation, so that there is a certain 
degree of relaxation resulting from the proper alternation 
of the different phases of work. 

2. Improving work as to quality. On the qual- 
itative side, the chief lines of planning are : 

a. Securing uniformity of methods. 

b. Securing correlation. 

c. Maintaining quality of pupils' work. 

d. Giving model lessons. 

a. Uniform methods. The principal will super- 
vise the work of teachers in such a way that the 
work of one grade will dovetail into the work of the 
next grade. Particularly will this be accomplished 
by prescribing uniform methods in those subjects 
which continue from grade to grade. 

For example, there are several methods of teach- 
ing problems in interest. Three teachers in three 
successive grades may each be expert in the handling 
of a different method. Yet it is better that the prin- 
cipal decide upon one method and prescribe its use 
in all three grades than that the pupil go from one 
method to the others, however excellent each may be. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 125 

b. Correlation. Proper correlation must be ef- 
fected between the various subjects in each grade. 
Particularly is this necessary when the principal has 
administrative assistants with whom he shares the 
work of the school vertically, and in the depart- 
mental system, where the subjects of the same grade 
are taught by several teachers. 

c. Quality of pupils 7 work. Some system should 
be established for commending the good work of 
pupils and for condemning their poor work. 

For commendation, meritorious work may be sent to 
the principal's office, — at stated times of the day is 
probably best, — there to receive his personal approval, 
which, in addition to oral expression, may be indicated 
by his marking or stamping the paper Excellent, Very 
Good, etc., adding his signature. 

For work which should be commended but which has 
no tangible product, or which it may not be practicable 
to stamp, a commendation card, as shown here may 



Name 


FOR COMMENDATION 




Room 

For 


Date 


...191... 




Approved . 




. Teacher 









126 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

be issued by the teacher and presented by the pupil for 
his signature in approval. It is best to limit the use 
of such cards, perhaps to two per day per class. They 
may be used for a variety of cases : improvement, gen- 
eral or in some particular subject ; effort, specially ap- 
plied or general ; generally good deportment or lessons ; 
some particular exercise of marked excellence, as a good 
composition, neat penmanship, a beautiful drawing, 
clean-cut gymnastics. 

Some cities provide a printed " Certificate of Merit " 
or "Reward of Merit" to be issued periodically to 
pupils "for correct deportment and diligent attention 
to studies," or some other happily-phrased virtues, and 
to be signed by teacher, or principal, or both. 

Mr. Frederick W. Memmott, principal, Public School 
2, Brooklyn, New York, uses a note form to the 
parent, reading, " Almost every day some pupil is 
sent to me with a particularly nice piece of work. You 
will be pleased to know that my visitor to-day was 
your ..." 

Similarly, the teacher should have the opportunity 
of sending unsatisfactory written work to the principal. 
He may stamp the papers with some such form as : 
This work is below the average 
of the class. 
Kindly examine it and return it 
to the school, with your signature. 
Respectfully, 

[Signed] 
Principal. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 127 

The papers are sent to the parent. It is not necessary 
that the receipted papers be returned to the office unless 
the teacher has doubt as to the genuineness of the 
parent's signature, in which case she should promptly 
refer it to the principal. He will investigate and, if the 
teacher's suspicion proves correct, dispose of it as a case 
of " discipline." 

There are certain advantages gained by sending papers 
home in this way: 1. It keeps the parents informed 
as to the pupil's progress, and most parents appreciate 
the information. 2. It spurs pupils to better work. 
3. It helps establish the justice of a pupil's non-promo- 
tion at the close of the term ; a series of papers thus signed 
and returned by the parent precludes astonishment that 
his child failed of promotion. 4. The principal's stamp 
on a paper gives its reference to the parent added dignity 
and authority. If the parent wishes to reply in writing 
or by personal call, he knows that he must reckon with the 
principal, and naturally goes directly to him. The 
principal can best handle the interests of all concerned, 
and can best decide whether the teacher should be called 
to interview the parent. 

After a number of unsatisfactory papers of any one 
pupil have been sent home, with no material improvement 
resulting, or when the pupil's poor work is rather a 
matter of oral recitation, the'teacher should have the op- 
portunity of communicating with the parent by some 
such form as the following : 



128 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Public School No. ioo, 
Broadway and Fulton St., 
New York, 19 



M 



Dear : 

I am sorry that I must remind you that 's 

work in is still below the average of the 

class. Will you please to give the matter your attention 
and cooperate with us in securing better results ? 

Respectfully, 



(Teacher.) 
This, and similar notes from teachers to parents, may, 
with good effect, be countersigned by the office thus : 

PLEASE SIGN AND RE- 
TURN TO THE SCHOOL 

[Principal] 

If necessary, this might be followed by other forms, read- 
ing 

's poor work continues. It would be 

to h . . best interest if you would call here at your earliest 
convenience. 

or 

's poor work still continues. Unless 

there is decided improvement immediately, . .he will be 
placed in the next grade below. 

It is well, too, to send such a form as : 

I am glad to inform you that has 

improved in 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 129 

d. Model lessons. One of the most direct means 
of improving the teacher's work is the model lesson. 
The principal may often teach in the classroom with 
some other aim in view, 1 but when he is giving a 
model lesson he should keep in mind : 

1. The lesson should be given in a constructive 
spirit and in an attitude that is in sympathy with the 
difficulties of the teacher. The aim is to help the 
teacher better her work ; there must be nothing of 
the " show off," no display of information or exploit- 
ing of ideas, but a straightforward demonstration 
to the teacher, either of general method or of the 
particular point that has baffled her, to help her in 
her actual difficulty. 

2. The pupils should not be permitted to under- 
stand that the purpose of the principal is to teach 
the teacher. They should regard the teacher as 
thoroughly competent, and the principal's lesson 
as a mere incident in the day's proceedings. 

3. The principal should, if possible, not interfere 
with the regular order of lessons, and should take 
no longer time with his model lesson than the teacher 
is expected to take in the same exercise. For the 
principal to drop into the classroom, become in- 

1 See page 306, 



130 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

terested in the work going on, take the exercise out 
of the hands of the teacher and display his own 
knowledge on the subject, is not to give a model 
lesson. In any such procedure he is likely to ramble 
away from the point of the lesson, to exceed the 
time scheduled, and to leave the subject in a worse 
condition than if the teacher had finished it in 
accordance with her own prearranged plan. 

4. Teachers should be encouraged to ask for 
model lessons. Then, they should not always be 
given. The teacher should be expected to exhaust 
all other reasonable sources of assistance before 
appealing to the principal. That is, she should not 
be permitted to develop a weakness that would lead 
her to call for help before she had attempted to solve 
her problem herself. Even when she comes to the 
principal, if he, as is often the case, can help more 
by not giving a model lesson, then he should refrain. 

For instance, a teacher says : " Last term I 
had difficulty with the teaching of this topic. We 
have reached it for this term ; will you present the 
lesson to my class? " The principal replies : "In- 
dicate to me carefully the steps by which you 
presented it last term," and then attends to her 
demonstration of her own method. Upon her 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 131 

completing it, he says : "At such a point you 
followed with such and such a point. Had you, 
instead, gone in this other direction and taken 
so-and-so, would it have been better? " The 
teacher grasps the idea, admits that her own method 
appears weak at just that point, and sees the better 
way. The principal then sends her back to her 
class to give the lesson herself in accordance with 
this new method which she herself has worked out. 

Such a disposition of the problem is of more value 
to the teacher than if the principal gives the lesson 
himself. However, if the teacher does not grasp 
the point made by the principal, or else does not 
agree that his method is an improvement on her own, 
he should try it in the class himself, with the result 
either that the inquiring teacher now understands 
the method, or that the teacher with doubts is 
convinced of its value. If the result of the lesson 
should indicate that the doubting teacher's skepti- 
cism was justified, the principal must frankly admit 
it and give the subject further study. 

5. Every model lesson, given as such, should be 
followed by conference with the teacher. It may 
be pointed out to her that the principal, in giving the 
lesson, labors under a decided advantage in that he 



132 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

brings with him novelty and authority, and under a 
decided disadvantage in that he does not know the 
individual pupils, their respective temperaments and 
abilities; and that these advantages and disad- 
vantages practically offset each other. The teacher 
should be asked to criticize the lesson just as the 
principal would criticize a similar lesson given by 
the teacher ; and the principal should take up each 
point of criticism or comment, and answer or explain 
it. Only by frank discussion can the teacher be led 
to see the better way and her pupils get the ulti- 
mate benefit of improved methods by the teacher. 

6. Finally, the principal should keep a careful 
record of such service rendered to teachers, noting 
the teacher's name, class, general conditions, subject 
taught, length of lesson, results of conference, etc. 
This is frequently specifically required by by-laws 
of boards of education. 

The principal will remember that he is not the 
only one who can give model lessons. Every good 
teacher is pretty sure to excel in some points. The 
school should draw, for the common good, upon 
every teacher's special excellence. The principal 
should arrange for interchange of teachers in ob- 
serving one another's best work. It makes for the 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 133 

finest professional good will if the principal some- 
times, in replying to the request of a teacher for a 
model lesson, says, " I should be glad to give such a 
lesson, but Miss X can do it much better than I ; 
we will ask her to give it." 

On the whole, as to the qualitative work of the 
teacher, if the principal will protect her from out- 
side interference, from parents, book agents, can- 
vassers, and even from himself and other supervisors, 
equip her with automatic aids such as have been 
indicated, and develop in the teaching corps a spirit 
of generous rivalry in sharing new methods, new 
devices, and new sources of inspiration, he may hold 
her responsible for quality and results, and in the 
majority of cases he will get them without further 
effort. 

Rating teachers. A school system must have 
some record of the quality of the work of the indi- 
vidual members of its teaching force. This con- 
cerns the principal, for it is usually upon his judg- 
ment, in whole or in part, that the official rating of 
his teachers depends. The rating of teachers, then, 
is a necessary but not very pleasant duty of the 
principal. He will determine his ratings by com- 
bining two factors: (a) the general day-by-day 



134 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

impression which he has of each teacher, and 
(b) special consideration of her work. 1 

a. By general impression. There are many op- 
portunities for the principal to gain a general esti- 
mate of a teacher without considering her work in 
detail. Her attitude toward her work, her general 
scholarship and culture, her personal tidiness, her 
attendance and punctuality, her willingness to 
cooperate for the good of the school aside from the 
required class work, 2 her influence on her pupils as 

1 See "The Rating of Teachers by no Principals in Ten Hy- 
pothetical Cases," in Semi-Annual Report, July i, 1915, Division 
of Reference and Research, New York City, which showed " that 
even in the distinction between satisfactory and unsatisfactory 
there is little agreement of opinion." 

2 In performing such services as the following, for example : 
Class work — 1. assisting backward pupils after 

school. 
School work — 1 . yard duty — voluntary, in excess 

of regular assignment. 

2. assembly — conducting music, play- 
ing piano, arranging program, etc. 

3. motion pictures — operating ma- 
chine. 

4. discipline — general interest as dis- 
tinguished from discipline of as- 
signed class. 

5. clerical work — of office. 

6. interpreter — in interviews with 
parents and others. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 135 

shown by their bearing and conduct outside the 
classroom, her manner in interviews with parents, — ■ 
all these, and more, are indications of the character 
of the work of the teacher, which the principal may 
observe without entering her classroom. Also, as he 
goes about from room to room on the routine busi- 
ness of the school, the principal, with whom alertness 
has become a second nature, makes observations 
which contribute toward his estimates of all teachers. 
He must, however, exercise great caution in general- 
izing. He must be extremely careful to distinguish 
between what he sees and what he thinks he sees. 

b. By formal inspection. The principal will not, 
however, base his official rating upon this one 
general factor ; particularly in the case of a teacher 



Extra-school activities - 


- 1. 


athletics — directing. 




2. 


pupils' organizations — presiding 
over, and assisting. 




3- 


excursions — of pupils to parks, 
museums, games, etc. 


Supplementary aid — 


1. 


visits — to homes of pupils. 




2. 


parents' meetings, etc., — attend- 
ing, organizing. 




3- 


alumni interest — organizing asso- 
ciations, employment exchange, etc. 




4- 


relief work. 




5- 


patriotic work. 



136 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

whom he regards, on this general basis, as unsatis- 
factory, it is necessary that he should at certain 
intervals — longer in proportion as the teacher is 
the more experienced and has repeatedly demon- 
strated her fitness — make formal inspection of the 
work of the teacher. 1 

In such an inspection the principal will examine 
the written work of both teacher and pupils. The 
record books kept by the teacher exhibit her ability 
to plan and proportion her work, as well as her 
accuracy and neatness. The pupils' compositions, 
arithmetic papers, and drawings tell a significant 
story to the intelligent inspector. The blackboard 
work of both teacher and pupils shows whether or 
not the teacher is making a pedagogical use of the 
blackboard; and, in lower grades especially, the 
teacher's own work should be judged on the basis 
of its being a model before the eyes of the pupils. 

More significant, however, are the teacher and 
the pupils themselves. The class in action is the 

Specifically required in many cities — e.g. Richmond, "In 
schools of eight or more classes it shall be the duty of principals to 
inspect some classes daily and all classes within two days," and 
Rochester, where principals " shall devote some portion of each day 
to visiting the various classes of the school for the purpose of 
supervising and directing the work of the teachers." 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 137 

great criterion. Teaching in accordance with good 
method, intelligent and skillful questioning of pupils, 
logical and pedagogical development of subjects, 
unforced and effective correlation ] of the various 
subjects, illumination of lessons with illustrative 
material, and finally, the clinching of a lesson and 
sufficient drill upon its main features, — all these 
are elements in teaching ability. The testing of the 
pupils may also serve as an index to the teacher's 
ability. 1 

With these go certain other features which are 
distinguished rather as elements in disciplinary 
ability ,'although the wisdom or necessity of making 
such a distinction between " teaching " and " dis- 
cipline " is open to argument. Included are the 
teacher's poise and self-control ; her manner before 
the class ; her reaching the individual pupil in mass 
teaching; her power to secure a true interest and 
attention, not merely " cutaneous excitation " ; her 
use of expression and voice as pedagogical means, 
the voice effectively modulated and varied in its 
tone ; her executive ability in going from one activity 
to another ; in short, her control of her class. The 
mere fact that a class is under control, " in order," 
1 See page 302. 



138 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

is not sufficient ; the character of the control is of 
far greater importance, and the experienced principal 
will discount the control that is only apparently 
and superficially good, and credit the control that 
indicates finesse in the skill of the teacher. 1 

Throughout every inspection the teacher must 
be impressed with the fact that the principal is 

1 Each city has its distinctive rating code emphasizing particular 
qualifications. New York City periodically rates teachers on only 
two points, instruction and discipline, with three subtopics under 
each to be rated in case the main rating is unsatisfactory. Special 
reports to assist in determining promotion, salary increases, and 
renewal of license, are more detailed. 

New Orleans uses a particularly comprehensive report covering 
the following items : 

PERSONAL EQUIPMENT — 

Voice Promptness 

Speech, vision, hearing Self-control 

Initiative and self-reliance Tact 

Adaptability and resource- Energy and endurance 

fulness Judicial-mindedness 

Accuracy Cheerfulness and optimism 

Industry Neatness 

SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT — 

Academic preparation Ability to meet and interest 

Professional preparation patrons 

Grasp of subject matter Professional interests and 

Understanding of children growth 

Interest in lives of pupils Daily preparation and plan 

Interest in life of the school Cooperation with principals and 

Interest in life of commu- teachers 

nity Command of and use of English 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 139 

present in a constructive, not destructive, spirit; 
that he is there to render her assistance in her 

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT — 

Attention to hygienic con- Care of routine 
ditions — light, heat, ven- Neatness of room 
tilation, seating Discipline (skill in governing) 

TECHNIQUE OF TEACHING — 

Definiteness and clearness of Teaching pupils to study 

aim Skill and care in assign- 
Skill in habit formation ment 

Skill in stimulating thought Attention to individual needs 

Skill in questioning Choice of method 

Organization of subject mat- Use of teaching devices 
ter 

RESULTS SECURED IN PUPILS — 

Attention and response of Improvement in self-direction 

the class and initiative 

Growth of pupils in subject Moral growth 

matter Love of school and ambition for 

Improvement in habits of education 

work 

A notable feature of this report consists of the following sup- 
plementary items : 

Special educational work done by teacher since last report 
(summer school, extension courses, correspondence courses, 
articles or books published, addresses delivered). 

Approximate number of times principal observed work of 
teacher. 

Approximate total length in hours of these observations. 

Number of conferences held with teacher. 

Special conditions not under control of teacher affecting un- 
favorably the efficiency of her work. 

The last item of this report is one that is too often not taken 
into account by principals when they evaluate teachers. 



140 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

service to her pupils ; that his aim is not primarily 
to rate her, but to work with her for her betterment 
and that of the pupils. Every formal inspection 
should be followed by conference in which the condi- 
tion of the work is made the subject of frank and 
sympathetic discussion. 1 The teacher should be led 
to realize her shortcomings, if any have been dis- 
covered, — to convict herself, rather than to receive 
formal mandatory instructions. 

Notice of rating. Whenever ratings are made of 
teachers and forwarded to higher authority, justice 
at least demands, whether it is required by the] rules 
or not, that a copy should be presented to the 
teachers concerned. 2 If the rating is unsatisfactory, 
it might be well to precede the formal written state- 

1 The human teacher will read with feeling A Dominie's Log by 
A. S. Neill, and particularly the dominie's imaginary report of 
inspection of the inspector's inspection, beginning at page 134, 
and ending with " Mr. Beans's knowledge of dates is wonderful, 
and his parsing has all the glory of Early Victorian furniture." 

2 One city prescribes that the third highest rating which it 
employs "is the highest mark given until the fourth half year 
here," and the fourth highest "the highest until the second." 
This seems nearly as questionable as the requirement of the Civil 
Service authorities in another city that not more than thirty 
per cent of its Department of Education employees shall be rated 
"above standard," thus advertising that it seeks mediocrity in 
service. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 141 

ment with an informal conference in which the 
principal expresses regret that the teacher's work 
makes necessary such a rating, indicates the lines 
of possible improvement, and gives such encourage- 
ment as the case may warrant. 1 

Substitute teachers. Every school must make 
some provision for the care of the classes of absent 
teachers 2 or pending the appointment of a regular 
teacher. Usually the school system provides regu- 
larly licensed substitute teachers to meet such 
emergencies. The principal must exercise judgment 
in assigning substitutes. He will be sympathetic 
with the difficulties with which most of them con- 
tend such as lack of experience, difference of aim and 

1 Mr. Alexander Fichthandler, principal, Public School 165, 
Brooklyn, New York, invites his teachers to rate themselves. He 
gives them a form containing two columns instead of one, autorating 
as well as principal's rating. Each teacher enters her own ratings. 
The form is then given to the principal, who inserts his ratings and 
returns it to the teacher. If the two sets of ratings do not accord 
and the teacher desires to discuss them, a conference follows. 

2 Portland, Ore., provides : "Any teacher finding it impossible 
to attend school on any day, must send timely notice to the prin- 
cipal, together with all school keys and such information as may 
assist the substitute to do efficient work. It shall be the duty of 
such absent teacher to give the principal timely notice of his or her 
intention to resume school work, subject to a deduction of one-half 
day's pay for failure to give such notice." 



142 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

method in different schools, need to adapt themselves 
to different grades and various situations, ignorance 
of the histories and even of the names of pupils. 

The principal can anticipate and forestall some 
difficulties. He may, in advance of placing the 
teacher, temporarily transfer to other classes those 
pupils who have previously demonstrated non- 
pacifist tendencies. He may enlist a near-by teacher 
to keep a special sororal eye on the substitute, indi- 
cating to her and to her pupils that cooperation is 
at hand. He may plan his own day's work so that he 
gives more than usual time to the class. Moreover, 
he must, if possible, treat the situation in such a way 
that pupils gain the impression that the substitute 
is not inferior to the regular teacher and that any 
special solicitude for her that they may detect is 
but accidental. They should not be allowed to speak 
of her, officially at least, as " the substitute." The 
principal should introduce her to the class and 
induct her into the work of the day. Pupils must 
thereafter, in speaking to her or of her, call her by 
name. 

If a substitute teacher once becomes thoroughly 
established in a school she of course presents no 
further special problem. The absence of the teacher 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 143 

of a difficult class often gives the principal the oppor- 
tunity to " try out " one of his less experienced regular 
teachers by assigning her temporarily to the more diffi- 
cult situation and giving her class to the substitute. 

In a large school it is often impossible for the principal 
to give time for a lengthy conference with a substitute 
teacher before she enters the classroom. Written in- 
structions may take the place of conference with the 
teacher who is to substitute in the school for the first 
time. The following has proven useful : 

Instructions to Substitute Teachers 

Do not permit any pupil to see this notice. 

You should find a plan book in the teacher's desk indicat- 
ing in brief outline the work which she had planned to have 
for the day. If this is not to be found please inform the 
principal of the fact. If you do not fully understand the 
work as thus indicated, consult the nearest teacher of the 
same grade, who will gladly explain it to you and advise 
you as to details. Follow this plan as closely as possible, 
except that : 

(1) Unless you feel strongly intrenched as to discipline, 
do not attempt drawing or construction work or any other 
exercise involving the extensive handling of materials, and 

(2) Unless you have permission from one of the offices, 
do not undertake any new presentation work in mathematics 
or science. 

As to discipline, insist upon a high standard of deportment 



144 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

from the first minute of your appearance in the classroom. 
Do not overlook the first lapses — condemn them definitely 
and specifically. Do not, under ordinary circumstances, 
report a pupil to the office for the first offense; but do not 
hesitate to report promptly a pupil guilty of willful disobe- 
dience or impertinence. In making such a report, do it with 
formality — fill out a "discipline" card, making the com- 
plaint specific, and direct the pupil to take the card to the 
proper office [offices indicated]. After reporting a pupil 
do not permit him to return to your room on any pretext 
whatever. He is to be readmitted only upon personal or 
written direction from the office. 

At an early opportunity note and carefully read the Fire- 
Drill card posted in the room. 

The names of pupils given permission to leave the room are 
to be recorded in the Time-Lost book. If the number be- 
comes unreasonably large, please report the fact to the office. 

Pupils who are late are to be sent to the general office. 

Make entries in roll book in pencil only. 

Superintendent Cole, of Denver, offers the following 
helpful suggestions to substitutes : 

See the principal upon arrival at the building and before 
leaving at the close of the session. Register your name, 
address, and telephone number in the office of the building. 
Be in the room at 8 : 40 and 1 : 15. Write your name on the 
blackboard so pupils may learn it. Familiarize yourself as 
soon as possible with the course of study. Keep an accu- 
rate account of attendance on a separate sheet, but do not 
make entries in the record book or on the monthly report 
sheet, until so directed by the principal. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 145 

Do not have the pupil use the regular teacher's spelling 
and penmanship paper. Use fresh sheets for your day's 
lessons. Do not make entries in ■ notebooks, etc. Super- 
vise all written work and inspect it. Do not give music, 
sewing, or drawing lessons, unless so directed by the princi- 
pal. After three days' absence, or less in case of throat 
trouble, pupils must present health certificates from the board 
of health or the family physician. Consult the principal 
about suspicious cases of absence. In case of illness or other 
emergency, notify the principal. Do not dismiss pupils 
before the close of the session, except through the office. 
Detain no pupil at recess, at noon, or later than 3 : 50. 
Do not alter or erase any work which has been placed 
on the blackboard for special purposes, such as honor 
lists, lesson plans, programs, etc. Do not change pupils' 
seats, nor alter room chart. Avoid criticism of regular 
teacher and her work. Do not give out books from the 
lockers. Be careful about giving out pens, pencils, etc. 
Watch the waste paper, and the frequent trips to the 
waste-paper basket; note writing, leaving the room too 
often, or without permission; staying out too long; mis- 
use of crayon; discreditable blackboard work; abuse of 
textbooks, untidy floors, desks, tables, locker-tops, window 
sills, etc. 

Should you need the principal's help in case of discipline, 
it may be well not to send the offender at once to the office ; 
but to send an explanatory note to the principal by some other 
pupil. Corporal punishment, shaking included, having pupils 
stand on the floor in hall or room, or sending pupils home 
without consulting the principal, are absolutely forbidden. 
Keep hands off the children. 



146 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Be careful of personal carriage. It is not unimportant 
as to where, when, or how you sit or stand. 

Watch the temperature and air of your room. If neces- 
sary, send word to the principal with regard to ventilation. 
Do not open windows and doors when fans are running, 
without order from the principal. Leave the room in per- 
fect order, and a note concerning your day's experience for 
the benefit of the regular teacher. 

Special teachers. In most systems there is a 
class of teachers known as " special teachers/' those, 
that is, who have charge of so-called special subjects, 
such as music, drawing, sewing, shop work, and so 
on. Their status is usually somewhere between that 
of a class teacher and a supervisor ; they visit 
classes, inspect the. work and advise the teachers in 
regard to it, and give model lessons to enable the 
regular class teachers, ordinarily not specially 
trained in the subject, to teach it with some degree 
of skill. 1 

The duties of the principal toward these special 
teachers are chiefly (1) to arrange for cheerful and 
effective cooperation between them and the class 

1 A number of cities prescribe that regular teachers shall not be 
absent from the room during the visit of a special teacher, but shall 
give all possible assistance, with the further provision, not highly 
complimentary to the special teachers, that they shall "preserve 
order and discipline." 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 147 

teachers ; (2) to curb the specialist in her natural 
tendency to overdo her own specialty; and (3) to 
see that the time schedules are respected as regards 
special subjects. 

Most special teachers are artists of one sort or 
another, and often have the artist's temperamental 
distaste for mathematical limitations and systematic 
observance of schedules. The principal will make 
certain that all the special subjects are given their 
full time and that the time allotted to them is 
effectively devoted to the subjects ; but he must see, 
too, that the other subjects of the curriculum, those 
which have no special staff of enthusiasts to exploit 
them, do not suffer loss of time at their hands. 

Assistants. In schools having a large number 
of pupils, the principal is usually given one or more 
assistants who have no classroom duties. These 
may be clerical assistants or administrative 
assistants. 

Clerical assistants. If the principal's assistant is 
a clerk, licensed to perform clerical work only, and 
paid on that basis, her duties must be clearly under- 
stood to include nothing of a supervisory char- 
acter. She must not be permitted either deliberately 
or unconsciously to become a pedagogic adviser 



148 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

of the teachers. If a principal is neglectful, it is 
very easy for the clerk, even unwittingly, to drift 
into a position where she is directing teachers. 
Such a state of affairs is wrong to the teachers and 
the pupils. 

Administrative assistants. If, however, the as- 
sistant is licensed as an administrative assistant 
and classed as a supervisory expert, then she has a 
very different relation to principal and to teachers. 
In some cities such an assistant has clearly defined 
duties; in others, her duties are by assignment of 
the principal, subject to the approval of his su- 
periors. Where the rules do not provide in detail 
for the service to be rendered by the assistant prin- 
cipal, the principal himself should make careful 
assignment of such duties and have it clearly under- 
stood by her and by the teachers what her respon- 
sibilities are. If the principal has entire freedom 
in the delegation of part of his own duties to the 
assistant, he has a choice between two methods of 
assignment, a horizontal or a vertical, or he may 
combine the two methods. 

a. Horizontal supervision. By a horizontal as- 
signment the principal divides the supervisory work 
horizontally, across the school, by grades or by 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 149 

floors of the building. 1 The advantages are : 
1. Assistants of a certain temperament like it, 
possibly thinking it easier ; and some are not quali- 
fied to supervise higher-grade work. 2. It gives 
each teacher fewer supervisors to please. 3. It 
leads to good correlation in each grade. 4. Re- 
sponsibility seems more fixed and definite. 

b. Vertical supervision. By a vertical assign- 
ment the principal divides the work vertically by 
subjects. 2 The advantages are : 1. It adds dignity 
to the position of assistant, and tends to encourage 
her personal growth, particularly if the assignment 
is occasionally changed. 2. It gives teachers the 
advantage of a variety of help and a chance of a 
more equitable rating, assuming that the principal 
rates only after consulting with his assistant. 3. It 
gives the principal the benefit of counsel. His 
assistant is probably especially well qualified along 

1 For example, a division of work horizontally might give his 
assistant grades I-V and himself grades VI-VIIL Or if the 
school occupied a four-story building, his assistant might have the 
lower two floors and he the upper two, regardless of the grades that 
came in such a division. 

2 A vertical division might be made as follows : Principal — 
mathematics, history, nature, science, drawing, discipline, 
throughout the entire school; assistant — English, geography, 
penmanship, music, lateness, supplies. 



ISO THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

certain lines, and particularly if these are the lines 
she supervises, her value to the principal as a 
counselor is enhanced. 4. It understudies the prin- 
cipal so that in his absence some one competent 
temporarily to perform his duties becomes the 
acting head. 5. It secures proper development of 
each subject of the curriculum from grade to grade. 
6. It aids school discipline, in that the pupils are 
discouraged from supposing that there may be one 
kind of deportment when the principal is in the 
building, and another kind when he is not. 7. It 
gives the principal a better opportunity to know all 
his teachers ; particularly is he better able to rate 
them by direct personal knowledge. 

Summary. The principal can conduct his school 
well only through good teachers. Hence he must 
make every effort to secure the best teachers avail- 
able and then study their individualities so as to 
assign them most effectively to classes and subjects. 
The principal must train his inexperienced teachers, 
encourage the faithful, prod the neglectful, and 
minimize the damage of the unreformable. He 
must respect the administrative headship of his 
teachers in their several classrooms ; instruct them 
by means of orders or suggestions, distinctly dif- 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS 151 

ferentiated, given in writing, or through individual 
or group conference; and criticize them frankly, 
judicially, courteously, firmly. He will serve the 
teachers in their service to pupils (1) by mapping 
out the work to be done in accordance with 
proper time schedules and requiring proper records 
of plans and progress; and (2) by securing co- 
ordination and correlation, providing devices for 
the systematic commendation and condemnation 
of pupils, and giving model lessons or having 
them given. In rating his teachers the principal 
will be guided both by the general impression he 
gains of each teacher's work and by formal inspec- 
tion of classroom conditions. Substitute teachers 
must be considerably assisted; special teachers 
must be brought into effective cooperation with 
the class teachers ; clerical assistants must be kept 
to the exercise of clerical functions ; and admin- 
istrative assistants must be wisely assigned, either 
to horizontal or to vertical supervision. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUPILS — THE MATERIAL 
EQUIPMENT 

Responsibility for material conditions. Before 
considering the responsibility of the principal for the 
physical, mental, and moral upbuilding of his pupils, 
attention must be given to the material side of the 
school. By the school is meant, of course, the 
organization of pupils and teachers ; but in modern 
practice the school is housed in a special building 
and environed with material aids to instruction and 
learning. Occasionally a principal is concerned with 
his school from the time that plans are first made for 
its building ; but in the great majority of cases he is 
assigned to the administration of an organization 
already occupying a building, for the design and 
original equipment of which he is in no way re- 
sponsible. In either case, given the school plant, 
he is directly responsible for its care and maintenance. 
Hence he should know what good equipment is, so 
that at least he may intelligently advocate im- 

152 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 153 

provements and extensions. Again, " Where we 
are perforce obliged to teach in conditions not ideal, 
we should be all the more careful to see that every 
favoring condition possible be given the children." l 
The principal is responsible, too, for proper super- 
vision over all materials used in the school. This 
chapter, then, will consider very briefly: (1) The 
School Building, (2) Heating and Ventilation, 
(3) Supplies, and (4) Decoration. 

1. The school building. The general subject of 
school buildings and schoolrooms has been so fully 
treated in educational literature 2 as to make super- 

1 Stuart H. Rowe, The Physical Nature of the Child, p. 12. 

2 For example, Edward R. Shaw, School Hygiene; Fletcher B. 
Dresslar, School Hygiene; W. E. Barry, The Hygiene of the School- 
room; J. A. Moore, The School House, its Heating and Ventilation; 
Severance Burrage and Henry Turner Bailey, School Sanitation and 
Decoration; W. F. Briggs, Modern American School Buildings; 
W. G. Bruce, School Architecture; A. C. Ellis and H. Kuehne, 
School Buildings; W. T. Mills, American School Building Standards; 
E. M. Wheelwright, School Architecture. 

A typical building requirement is that of Syracuse : "All such 
school buildings shall have at least two separate and distinct 
stairways located as far remote from each other as practicable. 
All stairs, stairways, and stair halls shall be constructed of abso- 
lutely fireproof material. All stairways and stair halls shall be 
enclosed on all sides with walls of solid masonry, self supported 
and carried from the foundations. All doorways opening therein 
shall be protected by fire doors and all window openings, except 



154 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

fluous any detailed presentation of the subject here. 
One point especially must be brought out, however, 
in any current discussion of the subject; namely, 
that the development of the modern three-story or 
four-story building with its scores of rooms has been 
accompanied by a demand for many other features 
than classrooms. Assembly rooms, gymnasiums, 
workshops, baths, kindergartens, science rooms, and 
music rooms, are coming to be regarded as universal 
necessities rather than exceptional luxuries. 

The ideal assembly room is a room distinctly designed 
for the purpose and reserved for general assemblies of 
pupils. It has an ample number of exits, a sufficient 
supply of light from windows properly placed, and wall 
surfaces which lend themselves to artistic treatment. 
It is furnished with seats arranged so that not more 
than four or five pupils occupy a single bench (individual 
seats are still better), and so that ample aisles are pro- 
vided. It is further equipped with platform, reading 
desk, and piano. With the growing tendency to use the 

from the outside, shall have fireproof or wired glass set in metal- 
lic frames. All halls, doors, stairways, seats, passageways and 
aisles, and all lighting and heating appliances and apparatus shall 
be so arranged as to facilitate egress in case of fire or accident, and 
to afford the requisite and proper accommodations for public 
protection in so far as practicable, and shall be improved so as 
to comply with the foregoing requirements."* 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 155 

auditorium more constantly throughout the day, for 
study and for other group activities, there has come an 
increased use of seats with tablet arms which serve as 
desks sufficiently well for writing exercises. The in- 
creased use of the auditorium has been brought about in 
part by the necessity of providing for a number of pupils 
in excess of normal accommodation, and the consequent 
development of duplicate-school organizations. Another 
factor in modifying the character of the auditorium is the 
growing use of the building for community activities, 
community council meetings, political and patriotic 
exercises, recreation centers, etc. 

The gymnasium occupies the space of at least two class- 
rooms, and is furnished with the usual heavy apparatus, 
together with racks containing the light individual 
apparatus, dumb-bells, clubs, wands, hoops, etc. 

Workshops and cooking rooms are usually fitted for 
classes or sections of between sixteen and twenty-eight, 
and on this basis require at least half as much more space 
than is usually allotted to a regular classroom. 

The kindergarten of not more than forty pupils re- 
quires a room the size of a regular classroom, and there 
is no limit to the amount of artistic furnishing which may 
be devoted to it. 

Regular classrooms. Probably the greatest need 
for improvement is in the design and equipment 
of the regular classroom. In certain cities kinder- 
garten rooms are furnished in hard wood and plate 



156 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

or leaded glass, with open fireplaces, engravings, 
and many other luxurious appointments, in addi- 
tion to the traditional kindergarten equipment. 
When the taxpayers are ready to spend on the 
furnishing of the regular classrooms as much as 
they now spend, in some places, on the kinder- 
garten rooms, the administrators of their educa- 
tional money will be able to provide a class-indi- 
vidual instruction that comes far nearer our ideals 
than anything yet provided. The development of a 
profitable technique of individual and group instruc- 
tion will be greatly hastened by the development of 
a material equipment for individual and small-group 
instruction. 

The possibilities of such equipment can only be hinted 
at : a room 50 per cent larger than our present average 
classroom; a class register limited to forty, perhaps 
thirty, pupils ; adjustable and movable seats and desks ; 
a place devoted to molding boards ; a shop for making 
models, maps, charts, and other devices ; a corner for a 
museum, a herbarium, a reference library, etc. 

Vandalism. The principal has the duty of pro- 
tecting the building against vandalism. Pupils 
must be trained to respect every part of the school 
building and equipment. Any defacement should 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 157 

be repaired as speedily as possible, so as to remove 
suggestion from other pupils. Every effort should 
be made to discover offenders and they should be 
dealt with in such a way as to impress upon them 
the seriousness of the offense as well as to secure 
reparation. 1 

2. Heating and ventilation. A prime necessity 
for the proper conduct of school activities is that 
pupils work under favorable conditions as to tem- 
perature and ventilation. 

Heating. When the temperature of the outside 
air falls below the normal requirement of 68°-7o° F., 
some artificial means of maintaining such a normal 

1 The Syracuse provision is comprehensive: "No pupil shall 
mark, cut, scratch, chalk or otherwise disfigure or injure any 
portion of a school building or anything connected therewith. He 
shall not use tobacco in any form at or going to or from school, use 
any profane or indecent language, throw stones or other missiles, 
annoy or maltreat others, nor do anything that may disturb the 
school or its neighborhood. Any pupil materially injuring, 
destroying or losing any school supply shall replace or pay for the 
same. Any damage done to a school building or any of its equip- 
ments or surroundings such as trees, shrubbery, flowers, fences, 
outbuildings, etc., must be repaired at the expense of the offender, 
and in case of his refusal or neglect to do so, he may be suspended 
from the school. The money for injuries to property shall be pay- 
able by the parent of the child to the principal of the school, who 
shall attend to the repairing of the property." — 64. 



158 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

condition inside the school must be resorted to. 
The present practice, in replacing old systems and 
in installing new ones, seems to be to use a steam- 
heating plant, the heated coils usually being placed 
within the room to be heated. This involves the 
use of radiators, with valves to regulate the inflow 
and outflow of steam. 

In most modern systems this regulation, either 
as to the entire plant or as to the radiators in each 
room, or both, is automatically secured by means of 
thermostats, which are capable of maintaining the 
temperature of a classroom with a variation of not 
more than two degrees from standard. 

One form of thermostat, placed on a wall at a conven- 
ient height, has direct connection by compressed air or 
other means of control with the valve regulating the in- 
flow of steam. When the temperature of the air falls 
below normal, the mechanism releases the control and 
the valve is opened, permitting the flow of steam into the 
radiator, thus heating the room. Contrariwise, when 
the temperature rises materially above the normal, the 
mechanism initiates the control, and the valve is closed. 
There are various other forms. If there is no auto- 
matic control of some sort, the valves must be regu- 
lated by hand, requiring constant attention by teacher 
or janitor. 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 159 

Ventilation. The heating of the air is only part 
of the requirement; there must be a constant 
replacement of old air with new, i.e. ventilation. 
This means that (a) there must be a sufficient 
supply; (b) it must be maintained at the normal 
temperature; (c) it must be humid to about 55 
per cent of saturation ; and (d) it must be of proper 
purity. 

(a) The two methods of maintaining circulation, 
vacuum and plenum, are the reverse of each other in 
action. In the former, the air is drawn or sucked out of 
the room ; in the latter, it is pushed or forced into the 
room. The modern plant secures circulation by means 
of a fan, the operation of which at a speed of from 1 20 to 
250 revolutions per minute draws or forces the air through 
the ducts and into and in the classrooms. The speed of 
the air in its circulation about the room must not be too 
great, otherwise a draft is created which may discomfort 
or endanger the pupils. Each pupil should have 30 
cubic feet per minute of fresh air. 1 

1 Dresslar, School Hygiene, in an extended discussion of venti- 
lation, places the requirement at 2000 cubic feet per hour for 
primary pupils, 2500 cubic feet for upper-grade pupils, and 3000 
cubic feet for high-school pupils. "Of course," he reminds us, 
"pupils will not perish if they get less than these estimates, but 
they will not be able to do their work easily and effectively, without 
fatigue and lassitude, unless they are furnished with approximately 
these amounts." — page 136. 



160 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

For a class of fifty, then, 1500 cubic feet will be needed. 
It has been found that a speed greater than 400 feet per 
minute is a draft. Hence, to bring 1500 cubic feet per 
minute into a room at a speed of 400 feet, requires an 
inlet — and of course, too, an outlet — whose area is ap- 
proximately 4 square feet. The best position for these 
openings seems to be, for the inlet, about 8 feet above the 
floor, and for the outlet, about 1 foot above, with the 
two openings in the same wall but not directly in the 
same vertical line. 

(b) By passing the air over steam coils before it enters 
the ducts, the normal temperature is secured; (c) by 
passing it over water pans or through a screen kept con- 
stantly moist, proper humidity is established ; and (d) by 
taking it from out of doors at a distance from the surface 
and screening it to keep out flying papers, leaves, etc., 
the supply is kept fairly pure. 1 

3. Supplies. Whether the principal has much 

or little to do with textbooks and other materials 

used by pupils depends upon whether or not his city 

1 See note in Educational Administration and Supervision, vol. 
1, p. 283, calling attention to "the investigations of the last half 
dozen years" which have discredited "the theory upon which 
existing systems and standards of ventilation are founded." "It 
is improbable that present standards as to quantity of air to be 
introduced into a schoolroom will hold." "We may discover that 
frequent small variations in temperature — up and down — in a 
mildly 'churning' body of air will do much to relieve the depressing 
effects of crowding and 'bad air.' " 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 161 

has a free-book system. If it has, then the requisi- 
tioning of supplies usually within a definite appro- 
priation becomes one of his important duties ; if 
not, his responsibility is limited to seeing that his 
pupils supply themselves with the proper materials 
and that the few indigent pupils are supplied in 
accordance with the provisions usually made for 
them. 

In either case there is generally a restriction as 
to the particular textbooks and supplies which 
may be used in the schools. Some cities have what 
is known as a " closed " list, where, for instance, 
only one title for the study of geography in each 
grade is permitted. Other cities have an " open " 
list, including a large number of titles for each sub- 
ject in each grade. Upon the principal is imposed 
the duty not only of requisitioning the proper 
quantities of books but also of choosing which 
books shall be used in their respective schools. 

Whatever the conditions, the principal should 
know good books and good stationery, just as 
he should know good buildings. If the list is a 
"closed" one, it is not closed forever; and the 
principal should, at least as a general duty, in- 
fluence the retention of good books and the rejec- 



162 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

tion of poor ones. It is assumed, therefore, that 
the principal is concerned with (a) the selection of 
supplies, (b) the requisitioning of supplies, and 
(c) the care of supplies. 

a. The selection of supplies. The selection of 
other supplies is usually not a very perplexing 
problem, but in choosing textbooks the principal 
must exercise particular discretion. He will not 
depend entirely upon his own judgment, but will 
elicit the cooperation of his teachers in making his 
selections. 1 

The principal considerations in the selection of a text- 
book are : 

(i) Its mechanical make-up. 

Its general appearance should be considered. Other 
things being equal, pupils should have placed before/them 
books which are good examples of the bookmakers art, 
rather than those of inferior, uninstructive, or unattrac- 
tive appearance. 

The bindings should be substantial and appropriate. 
It is economy to buy a book that is well bound. Par- 
ticularly, it is an injury to the pupil to study a book so 
put together that he cannot use it without straining his 
eyes in the effort to read the print along the inside 
margins. 

1 In Albany the form for principal's rating of teachers includes 
the item " Familiarity with texts in use." 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 163 

The paper, in quality and tone, should contribute to 
the pupil's comfort ; it should be of good quality, non- 
transparent, dull finish, and not embossed by type. 

The type should be of simple style and sufficient size 
and widely leaded. The size, of course, decreases with 
the maturity of the pupil. "If every book, no matter 
what its merits, were rejected if its type were too small, 
the makers of such books would very quickly bring out 
new editions with a proper size of type." 1 

The illustrations should be clear-cut, unambiguous, 
artistic, and accurate. 

(2) The text. 

The vocabulary and style should be appropriate to the 
work in hand for the pupils of the grade. 

The presentation of the subject matter should be in 
accordance with good pedagogic methods. 

The text should be adequately supplemented and re- 
enforced by illustrations, maps, diagrams, etc., such as 
really illustrate and explain. 

b. The requisitioning of supplies. The principal 
is usually given a definite appropriation for supplies 
of all kinds for the fiscal year. He is expected to 
exercise care and economy in its expenditure, and 
he will do well, at the outset of the year, to sub- 
divide his allowance, allotting definite amounts for 
the purchase of different classes of material. He 
1 Shaw, School Hygiene, p. 177. 



164 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

is more likely, in this way, to order supplies judi- 
ciously and in proportion to the different activities 
of the school. 1 

1 The following are suggestions which were offered by District 
Superintendent I. E. Goldwasser, of New York City, to his 
principals : 

"Hold conferences with grade teachers and with assistants 
with a view to determining how many written exercises should be 
taken up in the various subjects or division of subjects in the 
course of each week, for example, how many written arith- 
metic lessons ; spelling lessons ; dictation exercises ; compositions ; 
theme- writing in history, geography, etc. ; drawings ; penmanship 
exercises. Be sure that in establishing this norm there is no 
curtailing of the right of the teacher to vary her method as the 
need arises. 

"Determine what quality and kind of paper will be best suited 
to each exercise in question. 

"Multiply the number of exercises by the average register of 
the class, add fifteen or twenty per cent for wastage and vari- 
ance in register, and establish the number thus arrived at as 
the average to be furnished to the teacher in the course of the 
term. 

"Adopt a form of order slip which will show at a glance the 
total amount of supplies under each item that has been used by 
the teacher since the beginning of the term. 

"A similar procedure should be followed with pencils, pen- 
holders, rulers, etc. 

"Principals should establish a division of the total amount of 
money allowed per capita per year so that the proportion used for 
textbooks, for stationery, and for other purposes shall be fairly 
fixed." 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 165 

The following is offered as a suggestive scheme to be 
used as the basis of allotment : x 

I. Textbooks: 

Grade by grade and subject by subject, as required 
by the curriculum. 
II. General Supplies : 

a. Stationery : blank books, pads, envelopes, . . . 

b. Writing materials : pens, penholders, pencils, ink, 

chalk, . . . 

c. Records : books, blanks, cards, . . . 

d. Miscellaneous: book covers, mucilage, rulers, 

rubbers, pointers, paper fasteners, . . . 

III. Special Supplies : 

a. Drawing: paper, crayons, colors, models, paste, 

compasses, . . . 

b. Cooking: utensils, chinaware, cutlery, . . . 

c. Sewing : needles, scissors, thread, gingham, . . . 

d. Carpentry : tools, wood, screws, nails, paint, . . . 

e. Kindergarten: gifts, yarn, paste, needles, weav- 

ing materials, . . . 

IV. Apparatus : 

a. Science : chemicals, physical apparatus, . . . 

b. Gymnastic : bells, clubs, wands, . . . 

c. General : globes, maps, charts, stereoscopes, . . . 

1 The entire appropriation is generally based upon the number of 
pupils of each grade. It might properly consider another factor, 
viz. : the kind of pupils as to their home environment, etc., as in 
some districts and under certain conditions, books are subjected 
to a "wear and tear" that is not normal to another district or 
condition. 



166 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

This will, of course, be modified by local and temporary 
conditions, such as the necessity for providing for newly 
formed classes, for revisions of the curriculum, and the 
like. 

Supplies used by the janitor in cleaning and caring 
for the building are usually charged to a separate 
account. 

Some cities have a Library Fund against which are 
charged books which make up Class Libraries or the 
Teachers' Reference Library. If this is not the case 
these items would be interpolated in the foregoing 
scheme as subdivisions under I. 

c. The care of supplies. The first consideration 
in caring for supplies is to keep proper account of 
them. In some cities the method of accounting is 
prescribed in detail; in all, some method is pre- 
supposed, as is shown by the regulations regarding 
requisitions, 1 inventories, 2 etc. 

As the principal must give an accounting to his 
superiors for supplies, so he must require some sort 
of accounting from the teachers to whom he forwards 

1 "Principals shall issue to each room on the written requisition 
of the teacher thereof the textbooks and supplies needed for such 
room. ..." — St. Louis, 39, vii. 

2 "He [the principal] shall ... at the end of each school year 
. . . furnish an inventory of all the books and stationery belonging 
to the school." — Jersey City, Principals, ix. 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 



167 



those supplies. It is an extreme method that 
takes the view that teachers know what they need, 
should be given free access at all times to the stock 
room and permitted to help themselves, thus leav- 
ing the principal nothing else to do than to keep 
the stock room constantly supplied. The other 
extreme is to require from the teachers a written 
receipt in detail for all supplies sent them. Between 
these two extremes there can be found some profit- 
able middle course, determined by conditions. 

The following system for the handling of textbooks 
is submitted : 

When books are sent from stock to a class, a Charge 
Slip is filled out and sent with them, thus : 



To be kept by the teacher 


To be sent to the office 


jayyi. 7, 19/ 9 


ja,n. 7, 19/^ 


To the teacher of 




Class 8 d. 7ft. 


Class 8 d. Tfl. 


I Charge your Book Account with 


Received from Stock 


!2 ef<nvtZA ftLl. of 11. tf. 


/£ tt<mxXA /tUt. a( U. y. 


(No.) (Author) (Title) 


(No.) (Author) (Title) 


Your number on hand was . 82 




Your number now is . . . Wf- 


Making number now on hand V-V- 


If this is correct, please keep this half 




of the sheet, and sign and return the 




other half. 




Principal 


Teacher 



i68 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

The teacher acknowledges the delivery of the new 
books by signing and returning to the principal the half 
of the slip indicated. 

When the teacher returns books to the office as worn 
out, or no longer needed, or to replenish stock, or 
when, for any other reason, she should be charged with 
fewer books, a Credit Slip, printed on different colored 
paper, is filled out and signed by the principal ; and the 
teacher returns the right-hand half as a certificate of its 
correctness. 



To be kept by the teacher 

jam,. 15, 19/f 

To the teacher"of 

Class 8 (Z. M. 

I Credit your Book Account with 

5 ^wUXA ftUt of 11. c/. 
(No.) (Author) (Title) 

Your number on hand was . ty-V- 

Your number now is . . . dtf 

If this is correct, please keep this half 
of the sheet, and sign and return the 
other half. 

Principal 



To be sent to the office 

few,. /5, ig/<? 

Class 8 d. ,% 
Sent to r Stock 
5 ^yyuUJi /{Lot. of 21. $f. 

(No.) (Author) (Title) 

Leaving number now on hand 3^ 



Teacher 



Whenever a Charge Slip or a Credit Slip is issued, the 
office half is placed on file, and the teacher keeps her half 
as part of her records. In both cases the last previous 
slip for the same title is destroyed. Hence both princi- 
pal and teacher have always on hand a number of slips 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 169 

equal to the number of different titles of books used 
in that class ; and each slip shows the present state of 
the account, together with the figures of the latest 
transaction. 

Books are considered to be either Usable or Unusable ; 
they are either current coin or they are not; if not, 
they are to be withdrawn from circulation. Teachers 
file, several weeks in advance, Unusable Slips, like the 
following : 

Ase. 5, 19/8 
Class 8 d. 7tt. 

I estimate that on fcwv. /5 , 19/tf, about 

___^___of the...^ sfvyUXA /flat, of the, U. c/. 

(Number) (No. on hand) (Author) (Title) 

charged to my Book Account will be Unusable. 



Teacher 

The principal's file of these Unusable Slips, together 
with his file of Charge and Credit slips and Stock Sheet, 
give him all the data necessary for making out a requisi- 
tion or inventory. He will find useful a chart tabulating 
the figures of his Charge and Credit file and his Stock 
Sheet, a form of which is suggested in the following 
fragment. 



170 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 



in 

O 
O 
W 
H 




PQ 

00 


CO 


= On order. 

pencil. When 
ry. This chart 
ummary of the 


§ 

1 
:2 

Cm 

to 


»o « O 

PQOtrtO 


M tO O O 

pqOaxD 


OwOOO WHOO 

N <N N Tt ^ *t 


2 
Hc/3 




.22 


class. S = In stock, 
number of books, in 
de in the pencil ent 
tion and a detailed s 


U2 rtfe 





1 

in 


u 



55 

< 

8 

H 
en 




= Mixed class. G = Girls' 
tc, are made in ink; of the 
corresponding change is ma 
ye view of the textbook situa 


a 

c/3 


£ 


>ys' class. M 
ttries of titles, e 
mber changes, a 
t once a bird's-e 
ons. 


§ 


<s <s tooo 


O N »0 tOO 

Tf Tfr Tt 

PQ^OojO 


a? 

as 


gPHg 


B=B 
Er 
the nu 
gives a 
conditi 


i 


PQ 




i 


O « <N O 

PPOc^O 




to ■* to 

pq^oc/50 




P-i< 


Is 
■9.B 


lr 2 S 


a 


e 

2 

pq 


1 

O 
t-i 


•8 


J 





pq 

CO 


CO 





THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 171 

Beyond accounting for supplies, the principal 
is responsible for their proper care by teachers and 
pupils. 1 In proportion as he holds teachers re- 
sponsible, they in turn will hold pupils responsible. 
Each pupil upon receiving his books must be re- 
quired to protect them by an outside paper or cloth 
cover; and to label them with a memorandum 
showing the name of the pupil, school, date, condi- 
tion of the book when issued, etc. 2 It is necessary 

1 Paterson prescribes the "life" of its schoolbooks, "to make 
allowance for wear, tear, and loss," e.g. readers, three years; 
grammars, four years ; music books, five years ; etc. 

2 Such labels are usually supplied by the city department of 
education for uniform use. E.g.: 

RULES — FREE TEXTBOOKS 

Property of the Board oe Education 

Dayton, Ohio 

Building 

Name of Book No 

Rules eor the Care oe Books 

Rule 1 — After approval by your teacher, write your name in 

proper place below. 
Rule 2 — This book must not be marked with pencil or ink, and 

it must be kept clean. 
Rule 3 — If a pupil loses or injures this book he must pay for it. 

Condition : if new when issued, full cost price ; if good, 

3-4 price; if fair, 1-2 price; if poor, 1-4 price. 
Rule 4 — This book must not be taken from the school except by 

permission of the teacher, for the purpose of study at 

home. 



172 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

for the principal each term personally to examine 
books to see that this has been done, or to require 
the teachers to file statements that they have ex- 
amined the books and found them properly labeled 
and covered. 

Teachers may be shown their relation to the 
matter of damage to supplies by a specific regulation 
to this effect : " You are responsible for the proper 
care by the pupils of books and other school property. 
Report promptly any cases of neglect which you 
cannot adequately discipline.' ' How to treat pupils 
who damage or lose textbooks or other supplies is 
rarely a problem. If the pupil is ready and willing 
to make good the damage or loss, the difficulty 
adjusts itself. If he does not voluntarily do so, 



Rule 5 — This book must be returned to the teacher when the 

pupil leaves school. 
If you are wise you will make good books your friends. Wise 

people always treat their friends well. Learn to love good 

books. 





When Loaned 


Teacher's Name 


Name of Pupil 


Date 


Condition [a] 













[a] New, Good, Fair, and Poor indicate condition of book when loaned to you. 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 173 

the specific rights and powers of the principal, 
usually defined by the rules, although varying in 
different cities, are quite sufficient to cover the case. 

Typical requirements are : 

Payment. "If a pupil willfully injures or destroys 
any book or article of stationery belonging to the Board, 
or if he loses through negligence or carelessness such 
property of the Board, his parents or guardians shall be 
required by the principal to pay for the same." — St. 
Louis, 39, IV. 

Suspension. " Pupils are required to take proper care 
of all textbooks and materials furnished by the Board 
for their use, and in case any pupil shall have lost, de- 
faced, injured, or destroyed any book belonging to the 
district, he shall be required by the principal to replace 
the book or pay in full for damages to the same, and may 
be suspended until such damage has been made good." 
— Seattle, XII, 19. 

Fine. ' ' Pupils shall be held to strict account for proper 
care of books and supplies. Books must be kept clean 
and not marked with pencil or ink, or otherwise defaced. 
Fine may be imposed by the principal in accordance with 
general direction from the Superintendent's office." — 
Minneapolis, V, 9. 

Replacement. "If a pupil needlessly injures or loses a 
school book, his parents or guardian shall, on the demand 
of the principal, furnish a new book in its place." — New 
Haven, 251. 



174 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Richmond uses the following form to parents :] 

I find on examination of the books loaned to your 

that the following have been damaged beyond reasonable 
wear and tear. 

The rules of the School Board require that such damage 

be made good. The damage in this case amounts to $ 

Please give this matter your immediate attention and 
oblige, 

Yours very respectfully, 
$ , Principal. 

4. Decoration. Although it is quite impossible 
to reduce to any mathematical ratio the extent to 
which pupils are affected by the quality of their 
material environment, it is certain that they are 
distinctly influenced by their surroundings. Hence 
it becomes a duty of the school to provide some- 
thing more than mere " housing." Even the most 
wretched of schoolrooms admits of some decorative 
treatment which reduces the ill effects of the cheer- 
less atmosphere. 1 Even cleanliness and order con- 
stitute an essential foundation and beginning in 
decoration. 

1 A look-out must be kept to prevent such inconsistencies as 
flowers in milk bottles and coffeepots. Yet, cans and bottles may 
often be successfully camouflaged by means of a strip of cartridge 
paper and paste or paper fasteners. A simple class exercise will 
supply a border of straight line or mass design. 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 175 

Mr. Edward Mandel, principal, Public School 188 B, 
Manhattan, New York, uses the following form : 

GRADE TEACHER 

ROOM 

REPORT OF CONDITION OF CLASSROOM 

Have you attended to the following details? Please write 
"Yes" or "No" after each item. 

DATES 



i. Room Decorations. 

a. Pupils' Work. 

b. Pictures. 

c. Plants. 

2. Closets in Order. 

3. Teacher's Desk Tidy. 

a. Records (U. R. Drawer). 

b. Lesson Plans (U. R. Drawer) 

c. All Syllabi. 

4. Blackboards. 

a. Rec. of Reg. and Att. 

b. Posture Per Cent. 

c. Fire Signals. 

d. Exit Used. 

5. Library List on Wall. 

6. Program on Wall. 

7. Up to Date. 

a. Roll Book. 

b. Report Cards. 

c. Record Cards. 

d. Plan Sheets. 

8. Pupils' Books. 

a. Covered. 

b. Name in Each Book. 

9. Pupils' Desks. 

Free of Papers. 



176 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

The duty of the principal lies in both directions, 
the positive and the negative. He may encourage 
teachers, pupils, and parents in their praiseworthy 
efforts to decorate the schoolrooms; and he may 
restrain them in any mistaken zeal which finds 
expression in the mediocre, the unfit, or the unin- 
spiring. 1 

Ten commandments for successful schoolroom decora- 
tion given by Mr. Frank H. Collins, director of drawing, 
New York City, are : 

1. Doors and cabinet walls should not be used as 
bulletin boards. 

2. Do not decorate the blackboard. It should be 
kept for the purpose it is intended for. 

3. Do not allow wall displays of class work to become 
stale. Change the scheme of decoration once a 
week if only by changing one object. 

4. If you desire to display something on the class- 
room wall, do not stick it up anywhere; find a 
place for it. 

5. Keep the window shades balanced. 

6. Make the teacher's desk a model of good design in 
balanced decoration. Try always to have flowers 
on the desk. 

1 The subject of schoolroom decoration is extensively discussed 
in Chapters VI- VIII, Burrage and Bailey, School Sanitation and 
Decoration. 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 177 

7. Keep the windowsills free from litter. If you 
have plants, see that they are well arranged. 

8. Have pictures hung a little above the eye level. 

9. Quality and quantity should be the characteristic 
feature of display. 

10. Remember that the most effective method of teach- 
ing is by example. Have the room speak for itself. 

The principal can use his influence toward having 
proper wall surfaces provided by the building department. 
" Avoid glaring white walls. Broken colors (i.e. colors 
modified by gray) are advised. For north and west 
exposures, use warm colors. For south and east ex- 
posures, use cool colors. The natural lighting of the 
room should govern the depth of color used." The wall 
surface, properly prepared, is itself a suggestion of artistic 
treatment by means of pictures, and the principal can 
encourage their acquisition. In some cities, pictures 
and casts are subject to requisition as general supplies. 
In others, certain methods of raising money for their 
purchase, or certain restrictions placed upon selection, 
are officially recognized. 1 Parents may cooperate with 

1 "At the first meeting of the board in September of each school 
year, a committee shall be appointed to be known as the committee 
on school decoration. This committee shall consist of one member 
of the board of school commissioners, to be appointed by the 
president of said board, the superintendent of schools, the director 
of the art department. The supervising principal of the district 
in which the gift is to be placed shall serve on the committee in the 
work for his district. 

N 



178 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

teachers in subscribing funds, or school exercises may be 
held to which an admission fee is charged. Some firms 
of art publishers loan exhibits of standard pictures on a 
basis of a commission on the sale of tickets of admission. 
The following suggestions concerning pictures for wall 
decoration are based upon considerations both of art and 
of public and pedagogic policy, and are a digest, in the 
main, of circulars issued by the New York State Educa- 
tion Department, Division of Visual Instruction. 

1. "The subject must be of recognized artistic value 
and appropriate to the use of the grade or department 
for which it is selected. " 

2. Those subjects should be avoided which are ob- 
jectionable: (1) "on religious grounds, as tending to 
irreverence for things held sacred, or as tending to dig- 
nify and enforce or to ridicule or antagonize particular 
doctrines " ; (2) "on ethical grounds, as tending to make 
vice or questionable habits familiar or attractive, or as 
disregarding prejudice against the nude in art," or (3) on 
emotional grounds, as portraying the painful. 

" It shall be the duty of this committee to consider all gifts pro- 
posed for the schools. The committee shall have the power to 
accept or reject any or all such gifts and may act in an advisory 
capacity respecting all such proposed gifts. The committee shall 
also act in an advisory capacity respecting the decorating and 
coloring of walls of school rooms. 

" Trees or vines. No living tree or climbing vine shall be killed 
or removed except upon the formal approval of the committee on 
buildings and grounds or of the board." — Indianapolis, XXVIII. 



THE MATERIAL EQUIPMENT 179 

3. The best type of picture is a high-grade photo- 
graphic reproduction; engravings, etchings, and poor 
color prints are to be avoided. 1 

4. "The impression made by one large picture, and 
the effect it produces on the mind and thought of the 
pupil, is far greater than that made by several small 
pictures." 

5. "The frame should be of hard wood, preferably 

1 Miss Mary Walsemann, principal, Public School 8, Brooklyn, 
has, in the primary rooms, a graded series of blackboard pictures. 
The front blackboards are left free of all decoration but in those 
about the sides and back of the room the upper foot or so of space 
is given over to permanent decoration. The border varies in 
width by grades according to the space available above the ordi- 
nary reach of the pupil. The decoration consists of a repeat, with 
minor variations, in colored chalk, and a series of different pictures, 
cut from discarded books and charts and from new inexpensive 
prints, pasted on the board and placed appropriately in accordance 
with a unified scheme. A narrow paper strip is pasted on the lower 
edge of the border to catch the accidental upward sweep of the 
eraser in the regular use of the blackboard. 

The present series consists of the following subjects : 

1 A Dutch children 
iB Reading-chart rhymes 
2A Mother Goose 

2B Stevenson : Child's Garden of Verses 
3A Children in Art 
3B Eugene Field (Parrish pictures) 
4A Industries of the United States 
4B Children from other lands 
Pied Piper of Hamelin 



180 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

well-seasoned quartered oak, three or four inches wide, 
without grooves or other devices for collecting dust. 
The color of the frame should tone into the picture. 
French glass of first quality should be used. Framing 
with mat or margin should be avoided unless such treat- 
ment is essential to the effectiveness of the picture." 

Summary. The principal is responsible for the 
material conditions of his school. He must under- 
stand good building and equipment, secure the best 
he can, and make the best use of what he has. He 
must understand the heating and ventilating system 
and secure their proper management. He must 
select supplies wisely, handle them economically, 
and hold teachers and pupils responsible for their 
care. He must secure some decoration of rooms 
and corridors and make sure that it is appropriately 
artistic. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 

The principal has a broad responsibility for the 
care of the pupils of his school : he must protect and 
develop them along physical, mental, and moral 
lines. The first of these responsibilities will be 
considered in this chapter, under three heads : 
(i) General Responsibility, (2) Entrance and Exit, 
(3) Physical Care. 

1. General responsibility for pupils. A pupil 
duly sent to school by parents is under the respon- 
sible care of the principal until he is formally dis- 
missed at the close of the session. How far the 
principal's authority over his pupils extends beyond 
the portals of the schoolhouse and the time-limits 
of the daily session is but loosely defined in many 
states and cities. In general, while pupils " are 
going to and returning from school, the teacher's 
authority is concurrent with that of the parent. 
. . . When the child has returned to his home, 
the authority of the teacher ceases absolutely and 

181 



182 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

the parent once more becomes solely responsible 
for the conduct of the child." x 

"It shall be the duty of the teachers to cause the 
pupils, after the closing of the schools, to leave the 
neighborhood immediately and in an orderly manner. 
Playing in the street in the vicinity of the school shall 
not be allowed." — Baltimore, XV, 8. 

"The Superintendent of Instruction is directed to have 
principals and teachers give adequate and frequent in- 
struction to all children in elementary grades relative 
to the dangers of street traffic, crossings, etc., and how to 
avoid them." — Cleveland, VII, 10. 

Permitting pupils to leave the building. It is 

evident that the school can be held to a strict ac- 
countability for the pupils while they are in the 
school building and on the school premises. The 
principal cannot lightly permit any of them, while 
the school is in session, to leave the building or 
school grounds. 

In groups, under school auspices. A number of 
pupils — in fact the whole school — may leave the 
building for some exercise related to the regular 
school work. The school may take part in a parade 
or patriotic exercises, or it may go to a park or 
athletic ground f or a " field day," or a class may go 

1 The Status of the Teacher, p. 34. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 183 

on some excursion connected with the work in 
geography, history, etc. In every case, the author- 
ity, and consequently the responsibility, of the 
school is continued. The principal must be sure 
that every pupil is under the definite responsible 
protection of some teacher. Pupils will ordinarily 
require a larger amount of supervision under these 
circumstances than when in the classroom; each 
teacher should have fewer pupils under her guidance. 
It is wise for the principal to share with the parents 
responsibility for the care of pupils when they are 
taken outside the school. Participation in extra- 
mural exercises should be conditioned on parent's 
consent. 1 

Individually. There are circumstances under 
which individual pupils may be permitted to leave 
the school building during a session. They are 

1 Mr. William P. McCarty, principal, Public School 55, Bronx, 
New York, uses the following printed form : 



x . L £ son 

I give my consent for my daughter 



To go on an excursion to 



On 

Parent's Signature 



1 84 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

chiefly (a) on the request of the parent, (b) in 
case of illness, (c) in case of discipline, and (d) for 
messenger service. 

a. On parent's request. Parents frequently re- 
quest the dismissal of their children before the close 
of the session. Whatever the principal's legal 
rights in the matter he may well exercise discretion. 
It is important that the child respect the authority 
of his parents, and yet careless or thoughtless parents 
are prone to make unnecessary requests for the 
dismissal of their children. In the interest of the 
child concerned and of the school as a whole, the 
securing of such dismissal should be made as diffi- 
cult as possible. There are various degrees of 
rigidity which may be maintained : 

i. Pupils may be permitted to leave at any time 
during a session, the pupil on his return to bring 
a note of explanation from the parent. 

2. Pupils may be permitted to leave only upon 
the written request of the parent. 

The objection to either of these rules is that 
parents are thoughtless in the matter, and the 
earnest or pouting plea of the child to go along on a 
shopping expedition, for instance, is not resisted. 
Writing a note to the teacher or principal is regarded 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 185 

as a small price to pay for freedom from the child's 
vexatious insistence. 

3. Pupils may be dismissed only upon the per- 
sonal application of the parent at the school. Two 
distinct advantages accrue from this rule : the parent 
is less likely to make the request on any but serious 
accounts; and the presence of the parent gives 
the principal the opportunity to discuss the matter 
and emphasize the fact that the parent is taking 
upon himself the responsibility for the loss of 
school work which the child suffers. 1 

4. All requests for dismissal may be refused 
on the ground that if it is important that a pupil 
should be out of school any part of the session, it 
must be important enough for him to remain out the 
entire session. Such a rule is justified by the fact 

1 Louisville : " No pupil after entering school in the morning, 
shall leave the grounds without the consent of the principal ; nor 
shall any pupil be dismissed except on the written request of 
parent or guardian. All such requests, however, shall be dis- 
couraged by the principal as much as possible." — 14, 8. 

New Haven: "No pupil shall be excused from school during 
the regular sessions to take music, dancing or other lessons, to 
carry dinners, to sell papers or regularly for any purpose." — 254. 

Baltimore : " No pupil shall be permitted to leave school before 
the regular hour of closing, except for some extraordinary reason, 
of which the Principal shall be the judge. If the Principal is in 
doubt he shall consult the Superintendent." — XV, 7. 



186 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

that when a pupil leaves the classroom during a 
session, gathering and packing up his books and 
getting his hat and coat, he usually distracts the 
attention of the class for at least one minute, and 
that it is fairer for one pupil to forego fifty minutes 
than to get it at the expense of the loss of one 
minute by each of fifty pupils. The release of 
attention may not be apparent ; the pupils may, by 
all outward signs, seem to be following the work at 
hand when, in reality, they are following the envi- 
able comrade to his extramural joys. 

b. In case of illness. Frequently a conscien- 
tious and ambitious pupil comes to school when 
his physical condition demands that he should have 
remained at home. Teachers should be trained to 
detect such cases and refer them to the principal, 
who may in turn refer them to the Department of 
Health nurse. The principal will exercise his judg- 
ment as to whether the pupil should be sent home. 
Sometimes a pupil becomes suddenly ill during the 
session. 1 It is best to give teachers authority, in 
advance, to dismiss the pupil and report the fact, 
rather than to require her to refer the case to the 

1 " Pupils reporting at school on inclement mornings shall be 
sent home, if there is evidence of severe exposure to rain or flood 
or both." — New Orleans, II, 13, 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 187 

principal with the chance of delay resulting from his 
not being in his office at the time. Sometimes it 
is wise to send an ill pupil home under the escort 
of some other pupil of sufficient maturity and 
judgment. On the other hand, for many cases, 
especially of accident, it is better to make the pupil 
comfortable in the school, and to send for the parent, 
to whom the responsibility for the child may then 
be transferred. 

In case of accidents, the principal should not only care 
for the pupil but should also protect the school depart- 
ment by noting the testimony of eye-witnesses. 

New Haven provides that principals "shall, whenever 
a pupil meets with an accident at school sufficiently 
serious to require the services of a physician, or when- 
ever a pupil is taken suddenly ill and a physician's serv- 
ices are necessary, immediately report the case to the 
office of the Board and a physician shall be sent to the 
school. Principals may, if in their judgment the necessity 
of the case requires it, immediately send for the nearest 
physician. In such cases the physician shall give 'first- 
aid' and the Board will be responsible for payment of 
his service. The meaning of 'first aid ' is that temporary 
relief be given until the pupil can be sent home and the 
services of the family physician obtained. The prin- 
cipal shall immediately report the case in writing to the 
Superintendent." — 202. 



1 88 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Spokane uses the following form : 

REPORT OF ACCIDENT — PRINCIPAL'S STATEMENT 

School. Date of accident Hr. of day 

Where on premises did accident occur? 

If not on premises, where did accident occur ? 

Name of injured person in full 

Age Sex Address 

Name of appliance in connection with which accident occurred. . 

Was accident due to want of care on part of injured person? 

Was accident due to want of care of any person? 

If so, how? 

Was accident caused by removal of any safeguard? 

Describe in full how accident happened 

How could accident have been prevented ? 

State fully nature and extent of injury 

What physician attended injured person ? 

Address To what hospital sent ? 

If not sent to hospital, where ? 

Probable length of disability (give your own opinion) 

If injured has already returned to school, on what date? 

How many days did he lose on account of accident? 

Signed this. . . . day of , 19 . . . , 

Principal 
Witnesses to accident : Addresses 



(Additional remarks may be written on reverse side of this 
paper.) 

c. In case of discipline. It is very questionable 
whether a pupil referred to the principal for dis- 
cipline should ever be sent out of school during a 
session, except in the case of one who is willfully 
insubordinate to the principal and defiant and 
menacing. Usually, in such a case, the eviction of 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 189 

the pupil should be the outward and visible sign 
of a formal and official suspension under the rules of 
the department. Any such hasty and exasperated 
command as " Get out and don't come back without 
your father " has a detrimental effect in every way. 
It is an undignified expression of school authority. 
It is unwise in that the school cannot compel the 
father's appearance and there is an anticlimax if the 
pupil returns without him. There is danger of acci- 
dent to the pupil outside the school for which the 
principal might conceivably be held personally liable. 
In all ordinary cases of discipline, even if the pupil 
is temporarily withdrawn from his class, it is wiser 
to keep him under school control until the time of 
the regular dismissal. Yet, if a pupil willfully and 
unequivocally dismisses himself without permission, 
it is questionable whether the principal should 
attempt to prevent him by any physical compulsion. 
It would seem unwise, under any circumstances, for 
a teacher or principal to " run after " a boy who 
thus disposes of his own case. Left to himself, he is 
sooner or later brought to a realization of the fact 
that such a dismissal was but one more link in the 
chain of misconduct which he had been forging for 
himself. 



190 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

d. For messenger service. It is sometimes neces- 
sary to send a pupil out of the building on an errand. 
It is unwise to select pupils at random for such 
service. The personal safety of the pupil is en- 
dangered, and however slight may be the chance of 
a pupil's meeting with an accident, the principal 
should not take even that chance when it can be 
avoided. 

The principal may be guided by the following 
rules: 1 i. A pupil should not be sent out except 
on a necessary or emergency errand. 2. Teachers 
should not be permitted to send pupils without the 
special authority of the principal. 3. Only a pupil 
of sufficient maturity and discretion should be so 
employed. 4. The consent of the pupil should be 
obtained. 5. A systematic handling will enable 
the principal to secure also the consent of the 
parent. 

The following system is suggested. At the beginning 
of each year, each teacher of upper-grade boys is re- 
quested, by means of the following form, to submit the 
names of pupils eligible for messenger service. 

1 Regulations govern in many cities, e.g. Baltimore: "Pupils 
shall not be sent on a personal errand of any kind, nor be required 
to do any service not connected with their duty in the school- 
room." — XXIV, 2. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 191 

I9I-- 

M 

Please write below the names' of five boys who are willing 
to do occasional errands for us outside the building, and 
whose class progress, in your judgment, will not be affected 
thereby. 

1 4 

2 5 

3 

The pupils thus selected are given notes to their 
parents in this form : 

Public School No. 100, 
Broadway and Fulton St., 

New York, 191 . . 

M 



Dear : 

It often happens in connection with our school work that 
there are errands to be done outside the school building. 

has expressed a willingness to be of service 

to us in this manner. His class work seems to be of such 
average excellence as to allow of whatever loss of time it 
might involve. 

If you are willing that he should be sent on such occasional 
errands, kindly signify your permission by signing the accom- 
panying note. 

Respectfully yours, 
(Principal.) 



192 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

The inclosure is as follows : 

New York, 191 .. . 

To the Principal, 

Public School No. 100, 

New York. 

Dear Sir: 

I am entirely willing that my son, , should 

occasionally be sent on errands outside of the school building 

so long as his class progress permits. 

Yours truly, 

(Signed) 

From the returns of these authorizing notes, a mes- 
senger list may be made up, showing names of messen- 
gers and their classrooms. When a boy is sent on an 
errand, it may be noted on this list ; or better, the pupil 
may fill out a memorandum to be kept on file, as protec- 
tion to the principal and for future reference : * 

Messenger 

Name 

Room , 191 

Sent to 

For 

Time of leaving Of return 



1 A credential may be given a pupil messenger for protection 
against suspicion of truancy. A New York principal uses this 
form: 

The bearer 

is absent from school by permission, 19. . . 

from 

William A. Kottman, 

Principal, P. S. 147, Man. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 193 

2. Entrance and exit of pupils. Careful super- 
vision must be given to the entrance and exit of 
pupils, to the end that they may be effected in an 
orderly manner and with safety. It is wise to have 
some one in authority responsible, at all times, for 
the supervision of pupils. This necessitates the 
assignment of teachers or janitors to special duty 
in playgrounds, playrooms, corridors, etc. If there 
is a sufficient number of men teachers in the school, 
they may be assigned to all of this duty as regards 
the boys, leaving to the women teachers the super- 
vision of the girls' playgrounds only. An assign- 
ment of teachers to this duty in weekly or semi- 
weekly shifts is probably most satisfactory. It is 
not an attractive form of service, and three or five 
days in succession is usually sufficient to satisfy 
the most aspiring teacher, for it means her presence 
in and about the playgrounds and corridors for 
the half hour or so preceding the opening of both 
morning and afternoon sessions. The number of 
teachers assigned to such duty will depend upon the 
size of the school, the number of pupils, and the 
area to be supervised. As a general rule it may be 
expected that from about one sixth to one eighth 
of the teachers will be required for such duty ; that 



194 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

is, the duty will recur for each teacher about once 
in six or eight weekly or other periods. 

The rigidity of the discipline to be maintained at 
these times may vary in degree with conditions. If 
there is ample playground area, great freedom may 
be allowed the pupils, permitting them to play 
games, run about, shout, and otherwise disport 
themselves as is natural to the genus. If the play- 
ground area is limited, such freedom might result 
in serious accidents to pupils, and hence greater 
restriction must be placed upon them. It is better, 
however, to set a standard of less rigid deportment 
and have it conformed to, than to make rigid rules 
which are disregarded. For instance, it is better 
not to have a rule of "no talking " than to have 
such a rule and then allow whispering as a common 
occurrence ; on the other hand, it is better to require 
" no talking " and get it, than to allow " whisper- 
ing " and have it grow into boisterous conduct. 

As to conduct in halls and on stairways, there is 
something to be said in favor both of a laissez-faire 
condition and of its opposite, — rigid military dis- 
cipline. 1 When adults attend a concert, church 

1 In French schools pupils always enter and leave the school- 
room in double file, often singing as they march. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 195 

service, or other gathering, they enter the edifice 
about as they please, certainly with no military 
restrictions upon their conduct. Hence, it may be 
argued, if we are to train pupils for life, we should 
train them to enter the school building in an orderly 
manner, but without restraint, not prohibiting them 
from conversing in ordinary tones, but allowing 
them to saunter in as they would at any other public 
building. Military training, however, learning to 
act and march in unison, learning to carry one- 
self with proper posture and poise, are also valuable 
accomplishments. The forming of pupils on lines, 
maintenance of these lines, and marching in step, 
with an absolute requirement of "no talking," give 
valuable training and lead to orderly and well- 
mannered, not to say " showy," passage of pupils. 

The various stairways and exits should be num- 
bered or lettered and plainly designated by placards, 
and in each classroom there should be posted a 
statement of the procedure for regular dismissals. 

Emergency dismissals. In most cities emergency 
dismissals, by way of drill to provide for safe exit in 
case of actual danger, are required periodically by 
law or by board rules or both. Even when not 
specifically required the principal should have them 



196 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

at least monthly or semimonthly, both for the sake 
of the actual drill and for the confidence such drills 
inspire in the public, which feels that it may trust 
the school authorities in an emergency. 

Fire-drill plans. Other emergencies may arise 
necessitating speedy exit, but the chief source of 
danger is from fire. Planning for drills to be used 
in case of fire serves sufficiently to guard against the 
other dangers. In planning for fire drills : 

i. The principal should study the lay of the 
land about the school building, noting the location of 
the fire hydrants, the nearest fire alarm station 
(there should be one in every schoolhouse), and the 
nearest fire house. 

2. The principal should figure the route that is 
likely to be taken by the fire engines in coming to 
the building, and determine the locations for the best 
disposition of the pupils when they are out of the 
building. 

The pupils should travel a minimum distance from 
the school to a place of safety. Each class may be 
given a fixed position as related to certain landmarks, 
— posts, trees, etc., — or, if convenient, to houses 
by their numbers. Where this is impracticable, the 
pupils first out from a given exit may go to a stated 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 197 

point and the remaining pupils form a continuous 
line from the exit. In this case it is especially 
necessary that some one be assigned to the duty of 
keeping the sidewalk about the exit free from pupils, 
and of preventing crowding by other people. 

3. The principal should schedule the exact route 
to be taken by each class to its position of safety, 
providing for the non-intersection of files of pupils, 
and, where possible, arrange for the marching of 
pupils to music. 

4. The principal should devise a code of signals 
for emergency dismissal. The larger the building, 
the less elaborate and complicated it should be. 
The simplest code is to have two signals, one for 
emergency dismissal under ordinary circumstances, 
in which the pupils take with them their hats and 
coats and perhaps their books ; the other for an 
immediate exit without waiting to get outer 
clothing. The two signals, whether by classroom 
electric bells, hall gongs, or central bell, should be 
sufficiently distinct so that they will not be confused 
with each other or with the signal for regular dis- 
missal. 

Two strokes of a gong, as distinguished from five 
strokes, is much better than signals of one and two 



198 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

strokes, of two and three, etc. If the two signals 
differ by only a single stroke the teacher may have 
difficulty in determining which is meant. More- 
over, if there are several gongs located at different 
points, more than one of them is likely to be heard 
by each teacher and the strokes merge one into 
another. 

To obviate the danger which might arise from 
the signaling apparatus failing to work, 1 the regular 
signals may be supplemented by a " still alarm/' 
in which monitors pass quickly from room to room, 
displaying some form of signal card. 2 

1 Rochester requires the principal to test the fire alarm system 
each morning before the opening of school. Many cities pre- 
scribe this as a duty of the janitor. Detroit provides him with 
the following form: 

JANITOR'S EXIT REPORT 

Date 

8 : 45 a.m. 
In accordance with Rule No. 1 14 of the Board of Education, I 
have personally examined all exits and hereby report them to be 
unlocked, clear and free. 

Signed 

Engineer- Janitor. 
School. 

2 San Francisco provides that "The general alarm shall consist 
of the cry of fire, or of the cry of fire followed by a quick and 
violent ringing of bells." — III. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 199 

5. The principal should make provision for an 
inspection of each floor after a drill to make sure 
that no persons are left in the building. He should 
also make special provision for the care of physically 
incapacitated pupils during a drill. 

6. The principal should post in each room a 
placard showing exactly what is required of teachers 
and pupils in case of drill, for example : 

Emergency Drill 
Signals : Five strokes of hall gongs, 

Pupils go without wraps and hats. 
Two strokes of hall gongs, 

Pupils go with wraps and hats. 
(Note : Signals are to the teacher and not to the pupils.) 
Order : All pupils in Room 15 

use stairway and exit B, 
following pupils of Room 25, 
and preceding pupils of Room 35, 
and line up in front of 282 Fulton St. 
(Note : Pupils start from the room in double line and 
maintain this double formation throughout 
the entire drill.) 
(Note : There shall be absolute quiet throughout the en- 
tire drill.) 
Return : Upon signal, pupils return to the classrooms in 
the reverse order of that in which they went 
out. 



200 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Conduct of drill. In the conduct of drills the 
following rules are suggested : 

i. All drills should come unexpectedly to teachers 
and pupils. 

2. Do not have drills in unfit weather. Especially 
do not drill pupils in immediate exit except when it 
is warm enough to make it safe for them to go out 
without hats and wraps. 

3. Test signaling apparatus frequently. 

4. Make provision for pupils who may be in 
the basement, in the toilet, or in rooms other than 
their classrooms at the time of the drill, so that 
they may join the nearest line. 

5. Have drills under varying conditions : 

(a) At various hours during the regular class 

work. 

(b) During an assembly. 

(c) During a recess. 

6. Occasionally block off a stairway, hallway, 
or exit, or imagine them blocked off, so that safe exit 
might be made were such difficulties real. 

7. On the first day of the term make sure that 
janitor, teachers, and pupils understand the fire- 
drill regulations and have a drill within a few hours. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 201 

Precautions. Certain general precautions should 
be taken : 

i. Train the janitor not to permit the accumu- 
lation of rubbish or waste, and assign him and his 
assistants specific duties in case of drill, such as 
promptly fastening open the various doors and 
stationing themselves at a certain position or in 
charge of a certain territory, to protect pupils from 
street traffic. 1 

2. Confer with the fire and police authorities. 
They will usually exhibit genuine interest in school 
drills and often make valuable suggestions. In 
Denver the Fire Department is requested to call 
fire drills at the schools without notification any 
time after the first week. 

3. Train teachers to keep themselves under good 
control during a drill. Discuss frankly with them 
the actual chances of danger. 2 If the building is a 
modern, fireproof structure, point out how difficult 
it would be to organize a fire in it that would injure 
the pupils, showing that the sole danger is from 

1 Pupil monitors may be stationed at necessary places on the 
street and display placards reading " Stop. School Fire Drill." 

2 "The principals shall give such instruction to assistants and 
teachers as will prepare them to act prudently and promptly in 
case of fire. . . ." — Indianapolis, XV, 3. 



202 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

panic. If the building has certain defects of struc- 
ture from the fire-risk side, explain the conditions 
and the means of minimizing the dangers. 1 

A single exit from each room is better than more than 
one. In case of emergency, the teacher should quickly 
gain this single exit, command it, and from this vantage 
point control her class and forestall panic. 

4. Assure teachers that during a drill they are 
authorized to exercise military law if necessary. 
If a pupil should call out "Fire," or make similar 
outcry, he should be dealt with summarily. Cor- 
poral punishment, however unjustifiable at any 
other time, will be condoned by public sentiment 
and school authorities when employed to prevent 
serious panic among little children. 

5. Have teachers instruct pupils in advance ex- 
plicitly as to their duties in case of drill. Warn 
pupils that the signals are for the teacher and not 
for them, and that they are to make no move until 
ordered to by the teacher. Too much emphasis 
cannot be placed upon the fact that they have but 
a single duty in case of a fire drill, namely to give 

1 Teachers may be assigned in committees to report on con- 
ditions along the several routes of exit, e.g. an unprotected gas- 
jet, a door not swinging readily, a slippery step or broken tread. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 203 

prompt and explicit obedience to the teacher. It is 
probably best to direct pupils to keep one hand 
on the hand rail while going downstairs. 

6. Aim, first, for good order and freedom from 
panic; only after these are secure put emphasis 
upon the element of speed. 1 The principal should 
determine, from the character of his particular 
building, the approximate ratio of fire hazard to 
speed hazard. If the building is old and of faulty 
construction, the important consideration is to train 
pupils to get out of the building in the speediest 
fashion possible. On the contrary, if the building 
is of modern fireproof construction speed is not a 
factor of the same importance and the principal will 
not deliberately create an unnecessary speed hazard 
at the expense of lessened order. 

3. Physical care of pupils. Principal and teachers 
must, in many ways, minister to the physical wel- 
fare of pupils. The building must be (a) kept clean 
and (b) properly heated and ventilated. Pupils 
must be (c) instructed in physical culture. They 
must (d) have regular recesses and (e) be per- 

1 "System, order, and obedience, and steady and firm control 
shall be the points of merit in fire-drills, instead of extreme rapid 
movements and shortening of time." — Omaha, VI, 18. 



204 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

mitted to leave the room when necessary. The 
school must take preventive measures against (/) the 
spread of disease, (g) body strain, (h) eyestrain, 
and (i) pathological fatigue, (j) Home study must 
be regulated. Pupils who have (k) physical or 
(/) mental defects must be discovered. Finally, 
(m) adolescent girls must be given special con- 
sideration. 

a. Keeping the building clean. The janitor, 
in some places called " custodian," should have 
definite instructions as to the extent and frequency 
of his cleaning of the classrooms. 1 The principal 

1 The prevailing duties required of janitors may be summed up 
as follows : 

i . Attend for stated period daily ; responsible to principal. 

2. Responsible for school property — against fire, theft, 
damage, freezing, etc. 

3. Protect against idlers and trespassers. 

4. Present neat appearance — uniform. 

5. Receive fuel and other supplies. 

6. Operate heating and ventilating system. 

7. Keep exits properly open or closed. 

8. Sweep rooms, halls, sidewalks, yards, etc. (daily). 

9. Dust furniture, woodwork, etc. (daily). 

10. Scrub floors (monthly). 

11. Clean windows (monthly), blackboards. 

12. Clean and disinfect toilets (daily) ; clean drinking cups. 

13. Remove snow from sidewalks and paths. 

14. Collect waste paper and dispose of (burn, etc.) and other 
rubbish (daily). 

15. Wind clocks regularly. 

16. Examine roof (monthly) ; keep gutters clean and clear. 

17. Make minor repairs, apparatus, locks, doors, fencing, etc. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 205 

must impress teachers with their responsibility to 
notify him of derelictions on the part of janitors. 
They must not expect him to make a constant in- 
spection of rooms or to be clairvoyant. The condition 
ought to be that every teacher can have her room 
in just that standard of order and cleanliness that 
she may choose. Pupils cannot be encouraged to 
keep the classroom in order if they do not find it 
in a cleanly and orderly condition when they arrive. 
Teachers should not be permitted to give direc- 
tions to the janitor. All orders to the janitor 
should issue from the principal. This applies 
to all forms of janitorial service desired by any 
teacher; she should be required to submit her 

18. Adjust furniture. 

19. Report major repairs needed. 

20. Display national flag (daily). 

21. Be respectful and obliging. 

22. Sharpen pencils. 

The Worcester Quarterly Statement Relating to Services of Janitor 
made by the principal contains the following items : 

1. Does the janitor of your building faithfully perform his 
duties as set forth in the Rules for Janitors? 

2. If not, in what particulars has he failed during the term just 
closed? 

3. Is he cheerful in his service? 

4. Does he assume responsibility necessary to his position, as 
called for under the Rules for Janitors ? 

5. Offer any suggestions looking to an improvement in the 
regulations laid down for janitors. 

6. Remarks. 



206 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

requests to the principal. It is but fair to the janitor 
that he should be subject to the orders of but a single 
authority, whose directions are likely to be consistent 
and uniform. 1 

Teachers and pupils should learn to take such 
pride in the condition of their classrooms as to make 
impossible any serious accumulation of dirt, even in 
out-of-the-way corners of the rooms or wardrobes, 
thus reducing the chance of contagion through 
microbe-assimilating dust and dirt. 2 

b. Heating and ventilating. The principal must 
instruct teachers in the operation of the apparatus 
with which they are directly concerned, showing 
how the temperature and ventilation are to be 
regulated. If, in a steam heating system, the 
radiators are controlled by hand, they must under- 
stand the use of the valves ; if controlled by ther- 

1 The time at which the janitor should have "right of way" at 
the close of the session should be definitely settled upon. Re- 
quired, for instance, in Minneapolis: "They (principals) shall 
permit the janitors to begin their work twenty minutes after the 
close of school." — VII, 5 (e). 

2 Sanitary squads of pupils may be selected, by appointment or 
pupil-election, to make periodic patrol of the buildings inside and 
out, noting violations of rules as to proper disposal of paper, 
rubbish, etc., derelictions of janitor, improper use of drinking 
places, toilets, and school apparatus. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 207 

mostat, the necessity for leaving the apparatus 
alone. Teachers must report promptly any defect 
of operation. 1 

If there is a system of ventilation by means of 
fans, the teacher must understand the necessity for 
keeping the windows of the room closed while the 
system is in operation. Opening windows causes 
a circulation of air from the inlets to the windows 
in a zone above the level of the pupils, thus leaving 
the impure air in the lower part of the room as the 
only supply for the pupils. Keeping windows or 
doors open in one room leads to the disturbance of 
the proper circulation throughout the entire tier 
of rooms which depend upon the same duct for their 
fresh supply. 

A chief danger is that the teacher will regulate 
the temperature and ventilation to suit herself and 
not to suit the needs of the pupils. She is usually 
more active physically, and thus needs less heat 
than her pupils ; or she may be suffering some form 
of throat affection which makes her desire more 

1 They must understand, too, that the sharp clicking sound in 
the radiator which often accompanies the turning on or off of 
steam is what is known as water hammer, — caused by steam and 
water flowing in opposite directions in the coils, — and is not 
dangerous, but is serious only as it is annoying to the ear. 



208 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

heat than her pupils do. In either case, her atten- 
tion must be called to her duty to the class. 1 

In spite of the best of apparatus for heating and 
ventilating, exceptional conditions occasionally re- 
sult in the temperature of a classroom reaching 
abnormal figures. In some cities principals are 
specifically authorized, within certain restrictions, to 
dismiss classes when this is the case ; for example, in 
St. Louis where the limits are below 6o° and above 
90 , and in Jersey City, where they are 65 and 85 
for primary classes and 6o p and 90 for grammar 
classes. 

c. Instructing in physical culture. The curricu- 
lum in city elementary schools quite universally 
includes instruction in hygiene and training in formal 
gymnastics. The principal will make sure that the 
subject is not neglected and that the work is more 

1 " Children furnished with proper underclothing naturally 
require less artificial heat to maintain comfort than those more 
thinly clad. The teacher, as far as possible, ought to take this 
fact into account when matters of heating are under her control." 

"The younger children, especially those who have more adipose 
or fatty tissues surrounding their bodies, need a lower temperature 
in schoolrooms than those who are not so protected against cold. 
For this reason, other things being equal, boys suffer more from 
cold and generally require thicker clothing than girls." — Dresslar, 
School Hygiene, p. 183. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 209 

than perfunctory. A daily inspection by teachers 
of pupils' observance of hygienic practices not only 
checks up performance but also emphasizes the 
importance of habits and creates standards. School, 
class, and individual athletics afford ideals of physi- 
cal development and help to maintain interest in 
hygiene and gymnastics. 

d. Providing regular recesses. All pupils of at 
least the first four years of school should have a 
scheduled period of recess, which should come as near 
the middle of the session as possible, but later rather 
than earlier than the middle. No child should be 
deprived of his recess as a means of discipline. The 
recesses of successive classes in a large school require 
supervision by the teacher ; and upon the principal 
is the duty of arranging that they shall come at the 
best possible time and yet not conflict with one 
another. Within these necessary limitations, pupils 
should have a maximal amount of freedom. Free 
play in an outdoor playground has its merits, but 
organized games under the supervision of the teacher 
are much better than merely keeping pupils in line 
throughout the recess period or letting them pummel 
one another in ^discriminate fashion. The prin- 
cipal must provide for proper supervision of the 



210 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

toilet rooms by teachers, janitors, matrons, or 
monitors. 1 

In all grades, and particularly in the case of 
grades where there is no formal recess period, there 
should be frequent short periods of relaxation, set- 
ting-up exercises, or other forms of freedom from the 
ordinary restraints of the classroom. 

The New York City regulations governing recesses 
are: 

i. Recesses should be taken out of doors unless lack 
of space or bad weather absolutely prohibits. 

2. Every opportunity for exercise should be im- 
proved. Children should run or skip to their places in- 

1 Typical regulations are : 

"All pupils of elementary schools shall be allowed a recess of 
fifteen minutes each forenoon, and one of ten minutes each after- 
noon, from the time they leave their seats until again seated. In 
case of one session, the second recess may be omitted." — Balti- 
more, XIV. 

"Pupils must not be detained for study or for punishment during 
any part of the noon intermission or for the short recess. Except 
in inclement weather, all pupils except those in delicate health 
must be required to pass out of the classroom at recess." — San 
Francisco, 115, (a). 

"All children who live too far from their respective schools to 
go home will have the privilege of remaining in the school building 
during the noon recess, provided they conduct themselves properly. 
But under no circumstances shall the pupils be locked in the base- 
ment or rooms during this period." — Cleveland, 34. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 211 

stead of marching. Standing in line should be reduced 
to a minimum. Children may be dismissed by squads to 
attend the toilet ; those awaiting their turn should mean- 
while engage in play. 

3. Each child should be encouraged to take a drink 
of water. 

4. Play should be vigorous. The games chosen should 
insure each child's taking active part. There should 
be at least one minute's running in each recess. 

5. If the indoor playground is used, the temperature 
should range from 6o° to 65 . Windows and doors should 
be opened to provide sufficient fresh air unless the out- 
door temperature is very low. Too little ventilation and 
too high temperatures are most serious evils and should 
be carefully guarded against. 

6. If the play raises any dust, it should be stopped at 
once and the children should return to their class- 
rooms. The principal should be informed and the 
recess taken at another time after the playground has 
been cleaned. 

7. In the use of the singing game : 

a. It should not occupy more than one half of the 
playing time. 

b. Not more than one singing game should be used in 
a recess. 

c. Too frequent repetition in the same game should be 
avoided. 

d. Only one singing game should be in progress at the 
time. 



212 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

e. The song element of the game may be taught in 
the classroom. 

/. The song should be carefully pitched within the 
proper range of voice, and for this purpose the pitch pipe 
should be used. Special attention should be given to 
singing softly and to proper enunciation. The special 
teachers of music will assist the teachers as to the proper 
manner of singing. The singing should make appropriate 
use of the head voice, and chest tones should be avoided. 
If there is a tendency to become out of breath, the 
children may sing alternately by groups or classes. 

8. The program for the recess should be varied to 
avoid monotony. It may well contain a game, a song 
play, and a simple folk dance. It is more important that 
a few games or dances should be thoroughly learned and 
enjoyed, than to become acquainted with many forms 
of play. 

The following tests should be applied to all play pro- 
cedure : 

i. Are all the children actively engaged more than 
half the time ? 

2. Are they happy ? 

3. May the play be stopped and quiet attention ob- 
tained instantaneously upon signal from the teacher in 
charge? 

e. Permitting pupils to leave the room. One of 
the disturbing problems, particularly for the new 
teacher, is to decide when to grant requests of 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 213 

individual pupils to leave the room during the 
session. If she grants all requests, there is likeli- 
hood that pupils take advantage and make frequent 
and unnecessary requests. If she refuses to grant 
every request, injury may result to certain pupils. If 
she exercises discretion, and permits some pupils 
and not others, she may misjudge and be regarded 
as partial and unjust. Many cases of discipline 
originate in this problem. 1 If a teacher has diffi- 
culty in this respect probably the best procedure is 
to grant all requests (with a limitation merely as to 
the number of pupils to be allowed out of the room 
at one time), and either have all pupils report to 
the principal before returning to the class or have 
only those cases which the teacher regards as of 
unnecessary frequency reported to him. Either the 
pupil is normal and needs to leave the room very 
infrequently, or he is abnormal and his case should 
be referred to his parents with a view to their 
securing medical advice. 

An effective method of control is to provide each 
teacher with a book wherein is entered the name of each 

1 "Pupils will be permitted to leave the schoolroom in school 
hours for physical necessities, and teachers are required to use all 
possible care and discretion in respect to this matter." — Cleve- 
land, 28. 



214 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

pupil leaving the room and the amount of time lost 
thereby, emphasizing this factor by calling it a "Time 
Lost" book. By having the pupils make each his own 
entry, or by having a monitor near the door make all the 
entries, the keeping of the record is no tax upon the 
teacher. Occasional inspection of the record by the 
principal, with general comment on the amount of time 
lost, helps to keep down the amount. 

Such a record as this often supplies a valuable clew in 
tracing misdemeanors in the corridors by showing which 
pupils have been out of their rooms at any particular, 
time. Moreover, pupils, knowing that the record is 
kept, will be restrained from outside-the-classroom 
misdemeanors. 

/. Preventing spread of contagious disease. 
Teachers must learn to recognize the indications of 
the chief " children's " diseases and particularly 
those that are contagious. 1 The daily hygiene 
inspection insures systematic attention. The 
teacher should be oversuspicious rather than the 
reverse. In most cities there is formal cooperation 
provided with the Department of Health, so that 
the principal works with and through a representa- 
tive of that department, a physician or nurse, or 

1 See Shaw, School Hygiene, Chap. XII ; Francis Walker, The 
Study of Children; Burrage and Bailey, School Sanitation and Deco- 
ration, Chap. IX. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 215 

both. That department is usually clothed with 
practically unlimited legal powers, one of which 
is the exclusion of pupils summarily. 1 

Philadelphia uses a form which is typical : 

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND 
CHARITIES 

BUREAU OF HEALTH 

Division of Medical Inspection of Public Schools 

Mr 

Dear Sir : This is to notify you that 

, a pupil in the 

School, is in need of medical attention 

for 

You are advised to consult your physician 

without delay, or in the event of not being able to procure 
one, a hospital or dispensary. 

Very truly yours, 



Philadelphia, 19. . Medical Inspector 

Some cities send out a series of printed slips cautioning 
against various ailments, describing symptoms, etc. 

Particularly aggravating and usually very con- 
tagious is pediculosis capitis. Teachers must be 

1 "At all times the Inspector and Nurse must recognize supreme 
authority of the Principal in all matters relating to school regu- 
lations." — Cleveland, Medical Inspection Rule 41. 



2i6 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

taught to be observant and to handle such cases with 
tact. The average parent is inclined to resent the 
insistence of the school authorities ; but this is, of 
course, the result of ignorance or misunderstanding. 
If the case is carefully stated, and no tinge of dis- 
grace permitted to color the report, the necessity 
and justification of action can be satisfactorily 
shown the parent. 1 

g. Preventing body strain. Correct posture 
should be understood by teachers. It does not mean 
that every child is to sit or stand throughout the 
school day in an absolutely ideal position ; but the 
size and arrangement of the furniture should be 
such as to permit his assuming correct posture most 
of the time. The seating of pupils by some arti- 
ficial standard, as, for instance, according to their 
rank, changing seats periodically, should not be 
done at the expense of proper posture. To make a 
small boy sit in a high seat at a high desk, because 
he is successful in his school work, and to make 
an overgrown boy, because he is backward or dull, 
sit at a desk so low that he can only with difficulty 

1 The technical view of the matter is well indicated by the 
foreign-accented Department of Health nurse who expressed her 
admiration for a principal thus : "He takes such a noble stand on 
the heads." 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 217 

get his legs under it or sprawl around it, is not 
making the best use of even poor school furniture. 
Pupils do not sit on a mental basis. The teacher 
must be alert to notice the pupil who is misfitted 
to his seat and desk and to give him relief by chang- 
ing his seat, or, if the furniture is adjustable, by 
regulating it to suit his needs. Careless or slouchy 
posture while sitting, standing, or walking should 
not be permitted ; correct habits should be formed 
early and constantly maintained. 1 

h. Preventing eyestrain. The teacher must be 
constantly on the alert to regulate conditions. 
1. Pupils must be properly seated as related to the 
blackboard, charts, etc. 2. There must not be too 
large a proportion of time spent in steady written 
work. 3. There must not be an undue amount of 
reading assigned for home work. 4. Pupils must 
have correct posture during all writing exercises. 
5. Too large a proportion of the school work must 
not be done at a point near the eyes, but the black- 
board must be liberally employed, especially in the 
lower grades. 6. Pupils in blackboard work must 
bear heavily enough upon the chalk to make the 
writing easily legible. 7. The window shades must 

1 See Jessie H. Bancroft, The Posture of School Children. 



218 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

be regulated so that lights and shadows, especially 
upon the blackboards, are properly proportioned. 
Moreover, as has been noted, the principal, in his 
selection of textbooks, maps, and charts, will 
secure such as have sizable type. 1 

i. Preventing pathological fatigue. The fatigue 
that results from concentrated effort applied to 
appropriate work is normal and healthful. The 
toxins created are readily eliminated by lungs, skin, 
and kidneys. If, however, unremittent work and 
worry, and perhaps other factors, cause a more 
permanent auto-intoxication, the fatigue accumu- 
lates and becomes abnormal or pathological. 2 The 
number of cases of true pathological fatigue in 
school children is probably comparatively small. 

1 The lighting of the room is not discussed, because that is more 
properly a matter of the construction of the building. Dr. Shaw 
enumerates certain rules: i. Window surface should be one 
fourth to one sixth of floor surface. 2. Light should come from 
the left, or possibly from the rear. 3. There should be little 
space between windows. 4. Windows should extend to the ceil- 
ing. 5. Window sills should be three and one half to four feet 
above the floor. 6. Window shades should be of darker tone 
than the room. 

2 " Investigation seems to indicate that the cumulative effect of 
fatigue is not in mere arithmetic proportion. Twice the amount 
of fatigue requires more than twice the amount of rest." — Frank 
B. Gilbreth and Lillian M. Gilbreth, Fatigue Study, p. 5. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 219 

yet not to be ignored. 1 Principals must supervise 
the quality and quantity of work imposed on pupils 
by teachers and parents in order to prevent cases 
developing. Teachers must be alert to note symp- 
toms of cases already progressing. 

" Fatigue becomes abnormal and pathological when 
a night's rest or a longer period does not bring relief. 
Then we are liable to become emotionally disturbed. 
We worry, become morbid, cross, and generally disagree- 
able. We imagine all sorts of difficulties portend, and in 
time, unless relief is found by long, enforced rest, ab- 
normal mental symptoms appear." 2 

j. Regulating home study. Teachers are prone 
to overload pupils with required home work, espe- 
cially the preparation of written exercises. It is 
debatable whether it is wise, especially in certain 
neighborhoods, to require any written home work. 
Many pupils are entirely without facilities at home 

1 Studies made of school children point to the conclusion that 
"normal, healthy children in the grammar grades, in a hygienic 
school environment, can meet the requirements of the usual daily 
school program without injury to themselves or their work." — 
William H. Heck, Psychological Clinic, vol. 7, p. 258. 

"In general there is more weariness than fatigue in the children ; 
and mental activities are more necessary than complete idleness." 
— L. A. Robinson, Mental Fatigue and School Efficiency, p. 46. 

2 Dresslar, School Hygiene, p. 280 ; q. v., p. 282, for detection of 
fatigue cases by teacher. 



220 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

for preparing written exercises, and forcing them into 
competition with their more fortunate classmates 
is manifestly unfair. 1 In reply it may be said that 
the very requirement of such exercises leads to bet- 
ter recognition in the home of the rights of the child, 
and results in gain both to the child and the home. 

"The present system of 'home study ' in vogue among 
many schools is wrong. It is pedagogically unscientific, 
it is economically a mistake, and it is morally barbarous. 

"When a child gets through his school hours he ought 
to be through work for the day. If a grown man should 
labor no more than eight hours, why should not a grow- 

ktsbb 

ing boy or girl have the same right ? 

1 Home study has been abolished in the elementary schools of 
Sacramento. 

"It is clear that the family, with its variability in size, lack of 
room, and diversified industrial and social activities, offers little 
or no opportunity for the efficient guidance or supervision of the 
child's study habits during its school years." — A. L. Hall-Quest, 
Supervised Study, p. 10. 

Syracuse provides : 

"Assignment of lessons for home study may be made as follows : 

3rd grade, 15 minutes daily. 6th grade, 60 minutes daily. 

4th grade, 30 minutes daily. 7th grade, 75 minutes daily. 

5th grade, 45 minutes daily. 8th grade, 90 minutes daily. 

" Teachers must not assign home work which will require more 
time of an average pupil than is above stated. All assignments 
of home work must be definite and of such character that the pupil 
can do the work without assistance." — 45. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 221 

"The old notion is that a teacher is a lesson-giving, 
question-asking, order-keeping machine, also detective, 
prosecuting attorney, policeman, and in loco parentis. 

" It is about time teachers realized that their business 
is, on the contrary, (1) to inspire children with the love 
of study, and (2) to show them how to study. 

"The place to study is in school. The child needs the 
teacher's help in his work. Also he needs the school- 
room atmosphere. 

"When he gets out of school he ought to play. He 
needs that, and he needs the family life quite as much as 
his books. He also needs a chance to go to parties, or 
to lectures, or concerts, or the theatre, or to dance and 
sing." * 

The foregoing may be compared with the following, 
which are some of the conclusions based upon a ques- 
tionnaire sent (1915) to 616 superintendents, principals, 
and class teachers, by a committee of the New York 
Academy of Public Education : 

564 out of 616 voted in favor of home study. 

Compulsory home work should be prohibited below 
the fourth school year. 

In seventh year classes, the maximum home lessons 
should be one hour ; in eighth year classes, one hour and 
a half. 

There is substantial agreement that home study, 
properly explained and carefully supervised, will de- 

1 Dr. Frank Crane, The Globe, New York, Nov. 23, 1916. 



222 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

velop self-reliance, neatness, concentration, accuracy, 
industry, responsibility, thoroughness, and the study 
habit. 

476 out of 564 replies agree that proper home study 
becomes not only a function for the improvement of the 
school, but for the home as well. 

Careful measures must be taken by all principals and 
teachers to secure the honesty and effectiveness of home 
work. 

Systematic plans must be made for the efficient super- 
vision of all home work, so that it may not become an 
undue strain upon the energy of the class teacher, or 
take time which should be devoted to instruction pur- 
poses. 

The fact that 98 per cent of the 4252 boys, and 97 per 
cent of the 4483 girls who attend the evening study room, 
in social and recreation centers, were promoted, justifies 
their work, and proves the necessity for its continuance 
and extension. 

A careful analysis of the time limits set by 515 princi- 
pals and teachers shows that in assigning home work, 
actual "study" should require one half the additional 
time which is given to the "written work." 

Principals have no more important duty than the task 
of carefully supervising both the assignments of home 
study and the methods of determining the honesty and 
efficiency of the results. 

No home studies should be permitted, unless adequate 
explanations have been given in school by the teacher. 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 223 

The object of home work should be educational, not 
preventive. Its chief aim should be to supplement the 
school work, and not a means of keeping the children off 
the streets. 

To a great degree, home work will vary according to 
neighborhood conditions. Every principal must, there- 
fore, be held strictly accountable for the needs of his or 
her particular school. 

Quality, not quantity, should be the standard of effi- 
ciency in judging the results of home work. 

k. Discovering physical defects. In some cities 
this is done by agents of the Department of Health. 
Teachers can, however, by frequent tests of vision 
and hearing, discover cases requiring professional 
attention. 1 In these cases, formal reports should 
be made to the parents. Affections of nose and 
throat are frequent causes of serious mental defects 
in pupils, and removal of these causes almost in- 
variably results favorably to the mental condition 
of the children. 

I. Discovering mental defects. Pupils with seri- 
ous physical defects — the blind, mute, deaf, etc. 

1 For directions for testing hearing and vision, for stigmata of 
various defects, and for full discussion from the teacher's stand- 
point, see Lewis M. Terman, The Hygiene of the School Child. 
Also, Dresslar, School Hygiene. See, too, Walter B. Smith, 
Speech Defects in School Children. 



224 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

— do not as a rule attend public school. Pupils 
mentally defective, however, are frequently ad- 
mitted. In the case of such a pupil, his defect often 
remains undiscovered, or if considered at all, is 
summarily disposed of as misconduct and treated as 
a case of discipline. In those cities that have 
established psychological clinics or bureaus (see 
page 237) there is systematic direction of the work 
of discovering mentally defective pupils. Whether 
such a bureau exists or not, teachers should learn 
to detect these pupils' cases, or at least to be sus- 
picious that certain pupils are defective, and the 
principal should consider such cases carefully and 
diagnose them, with the aid, when it is possible to 
secure it, of parents and professional experts. 

The following criteria are given by the Acting Super- 
intendent of Schools, New York City, Elementary Cir- 
cular Number 1, 191 7-18, for 

Children who may be defective. 

a. Children who have gross conduct disorders : — 
truants ; those who seem to be incorrigible ; those who 
seem to show criminal tendencies ; those who are habit- 
ually absent from school even for a half day at a time ; 
those who have "tantrums." 

b. Children who seem nervous : — those who cry 
easily ; those who are easily frightened ; those who con- 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 225 

stantly move about ; choreic children ; those who have 
unusual anxieties ; epileptics. 

c. Children who seem psychopathic : — those who do 
not play ; those who play with children much younger 
than themselves ; those who are overconscientious, 
hypersensitive, etc. ; those who are extremely reticent, 
suspicious, etc. ; those who avoid companionship, those 
who are irritable; those who have shown a marked 
change in disposition. 

d. Children whose progress is unsatisfactory : — those 
who show defect in general information about the home, 
the school, and the street environment ; those apparently 
unable to learn, to reason, to calculate, to plan, to con- 
struct; those who show marked muscular incoordina- 
tion; those who show defect in judgment, foresight, 
language, suggestibility, output of effort. 

m. Giving special consideration to adolescent girls. 
The care of girls at their critical periods is commonly 
neglected, especially in the elementary schools. 
There are several reasons. 1. The matter is gen- 
erally regarded as a high-school problem, whereas 
the fact is that more than a majority of schoolgirls 
mature while yet in the elementary school. 

2. Teachers are careless or inattentive because of 
ignorance as to the importance of the subject. 

3. In many schools the attendance record is over- 
emphasized, and, in consequence, teachers urge 

Q 



226 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

their girls, and the girls urge themselves, to attend 
school when it would be better for them to absent 
themselves. 4. Physical adolescence is accom- 
panied by mental characteristics, 1 one of which in 
many cases is the development and refinement of 
the sense of duty. Overconscientiousness and fidel- 
ity to the requirements of the school lead the girl 
to neglect her physical well-being. 5. There is 
prevalent conviction that the subject is a delicate one 
to discuss and that consideration of it would be 
resented by parents and the public. 2 

1 The Adolescent Girl 

"I wish there were Someone 

Who would hear confession ; 
Not a priest — I do not want to be told of my sins ; 
Not a mother — I do not want to give sorrow ; 
Not a friend — she would not know enough ; 
Not a lover — he would be too partial ; 
Not God — He is far away. 
But Someone that should be friend, lover, mother, priest, God, 

all in one. 
And a stranger besides, — who would not condemn or interfere. 
Who, when everything is said from beginning to end, 

Would show the reason of it all 

And bid you go ahead 

And work it out your own way." — Jeanne D'Orge, quoted in 
Journal of Education, Nov. 16, 1916. 

2 See author's Problems of the Elementary School, Chap. X, on 
"The Care of Adolescent Girls," descriptive of experience in 
endeavoring to solve the problem in one school. "In five years' 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 227 

Teachers should be brought to a proper under- 
standing of this subject. Their indifference, when it 
exists, is usually only apparent and not willful and is 
the result of ignorance or of loyalty to conventional 
school traditions. Teachers should know that a girl 
who has reached maturity will accomplish a larger 
total of mental work by working steadily through all 
but two or three days of her month than by work- 
ing at high pressure throughout the entire month. 
Moreover, she thus considerably lessens the chances 
of suffering serious disorder later in life. A clear 
and frank understanding should be had between the 
teacher and the mothers of her girls. As a result, 
the mothers realize that the school recognizes in- 
stead of disregards the matter, and prefers that the 
girls shall periodically ease up in their work, either 
by absenting themselves or by coming to school 
unprepared in their lessons and free from the neces- 
sity of performing all the school exercises. 

Teachers should also be encouraged to refer 
special cases of threatened breakdown to the prin- 
cipal. In any class of girls, toward the end of the 
school year there are usually two or three brighter 

time and in hundreds of cases" there was "no single case of resent- 
ment shown by a mother." 



228 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

than the average, whose ambition and fidelity have 
outrun a reasonable expenditure of physical energy. 
Many days before the end of the term they have 
reached a standing which the average member of 
the class will not reach by the term's end. They 
may be profitably advised to absent themselves for 
a few days to reestablish their physical equilibrium 
by free play and exercise in the open air. 

Summary. The principal's responsibility for the 
physical welfare of his pupils takes three main 
directions. He must assure their personal safety 
while they are in school; he must safeguard them 
against the danger of fire and other emergencies ; and 
he must manage the school so that it ministers to 
their physical care and development. If pupils 
leave school in a group during session they must 
be under the responsible guidance of teachers; if 
individuals leave it must be only under exceptional 
circumstances, such as a parent's request in an 
emergency, illness, serious disciplinary offense, or 
for messenger service. Teachers and pupils must 
be drilled in safe and speedy exit from the building 
in case of danger. The physical welfare of pupils 
will be furthered by a clean building, properly 
heated and ventilated; instruction in physical cul- 



THE PUPILS' PHYSICAL WELFARE 229 

ture; regular recesses and opportunity to leave the 
room at other times ; measures to prevent the spread 
of contagious disease, strain of body and eye, and 
pathological fatigue; regulation of home study; 
attention to physical and mental defect ; and special 
consideration for the adolescent girl. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC 
PROGRESS 

The responsibility of the principal for the scho- 
lastic advancement of his pupils presents problems 
in organization and supervision concerning : (i) the 
admission of pupils, (2) the grading of pupils, 
(3) the departmental plan, (4) the rating of pupils, 
(5) the promotion of pupils, (6) the classroom work, 
(7) standards and tests. 

1. The admission of pupils. In admitting a 
new pupil the principal must assign him to that 
grade where he will find a fair balance between his 
capacity to work and the necessity of his working. 
If the pupil presents a certificate of transfer from 
some other school within the same system, profes- 
sional etiquette, if not a specific rule of the depart- 
ment, demands that he be placed in the same grade 
as he was in the former school. If he comes from 
another system, the principal has to take into con- 
sideration the difference in the curricula of the two 
systems. 

230 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 231 

If the pupil has no documentary evidence of his 
previous school record, the principal must be guided 
by the individual circumstances. By a simple oral 
or written test he may ascertain approximately 
both the pupil's accumulated stock of knowledge 
and his ability to take up new work. If he is farther 
advanced in some subjects than in others, he may be 
assigned to such a grade as will credit him with the 
advanced knowledge and yet make him put forth 
considerable effort in the other subjects. 

Assignment should be on trial, and clearly so 
stated. It is better, as a rule, to put a pupil in the 
higher of two possible grades with the understanding 
that he will have a certain number of days in which 
to prove his ability to stay there, than to put him in 
the lower grade on the assumption that he needs the 
" foundation " work. When he is given such a 
trial, he should understand that no disgrace will 
attach to his reduction in grade if later it is found 
that he has been graded too high. 

2. The grading of pupils. The proper grading 
of pupils is one of the unsolved pedagogic problems 
of the day. The " district school " represents the 
extreme type of individual instruction, each pupil 
practically in a grade by himself. The large city 



232 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

school with four or five classes — two hundred or 
more pupils — in a single grade, represents the 
extreme type of mass instruction. How, in a large 
school, with large classes inevitable, shall the happy- 
mean be reached between individual and mass 
teaching ? 

The principal should recognize the broad features of 
the problem, especially the fact that the size of classes 
and the quality of the teaching is at root a financial 
matter. He should, therefore, exercise his influence 
in urging the public to more liberal expenditure. 1 The 
practical administrative problem before him is how he 
shall get the most effective teaching for the individual 
through the mass, under the actual conditions and with 
limited equipment. 

If a teacher had but one pupil, it would be pos- 
sible for her to give him instruction adapted one 
hundred per cent to his needs. With two pupils, 
she would have to " average " her teaching so that 
it would reach both pupils. Unless both pupils 

1 There is probably a limit, however, to the reduction in size of 
classes, fixed by pedagogic considerations. If twenty-four pupils in 
a class is twice as good a condition as forty-eight pupils in a class, 
it does not follow that twelve pupils would be again twice as 
favorable. The value of society membership, of development 
along lines of social efficiency, of the friction of mind on mind that 
produces polish, is not to be underestimated. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 233 

had identically the same degree of intelligence and 
amount of preparation the teaching would unavoid- 
ably fall below one hundred per cent of adaptation 
to either pupil. With a class of forty or fifty the 
percentage of course falls far below, and the class 
teaching must be directed toward a more or less 
imaginary " average " pupil. 

Grouping pupils. The greater the extremes of 
ability among the pupils in a class the less effective 
the mass teaching. Conversely, the more homo- 
geneous the class the more effective the teaching. 
The principal's problem would seem, then, to be to 
make the unit-groupings of pupils as homogeneous 
as possible. 

The measure of intelligence. The beginning of 
the solution of the problem is to eliminate the pupils 
who represent the extremes of variation. To do 
this necessitates some means of measuring intelli- 
gence and accomplishment. 1 It is only in recent 

1 These two measures are not the same. For example, a child 
of intelligence beyond the normal may happen not to have studied 
long division; another child, comparatively stupid, may have 
mastered the topic at the age of fifteen. In the first case, intel- 
ligence is high and achievement of this particular knowledge low ; 
in the second, intelligence is low, achievement high. The ac- 
complishment of school tasks is measured by the usual standards, 
examinations, and tests, which are discussed later (p. 275). 



234 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

years that scientific tests of intelligence have been 
devised. The test now commonly used is the 
Binet. 1 This test provides a scale of standard nor- 
mal development of intelligence, year by year, in 
the age of the individual. By it a person's intelli- 
gence year, or " mental age," can be determined. 
The ratio of his mental age to his chronological age 
is known as his intelligence quotient (I. Q.). 2 

An I. Q. of ioo is, of course, theoretically normal ; 
anything less would indicate subnormal, and any- 
thing more, supernormal, intelligence. Practically, 
an I. Q. of from 90 to no is regarded as average or 
normal. In any ordinary classroom group it is 
inevitable that the intelligence quotients of the 
pupils vary to some extent. For effective teaching 
all pupils of extreme variation in either direction 

1 The original tests have been subjected to successive revisions, 
some by Professor Binet himself. The test is now usually known 
as the Binet-Simon Measuring Scale for Intelligence. For de- 
scription of the Stanford revision and extension, and guide for its 
use, see Terman, The Measure of Intelligence. 

2 Yerkes — Bridges — Hardwick, A Point Scale for Measuring 
Mental Activity, presents a scale consisting of "a single series of 
tests ... in connection with which credit should be given 
according to the merit of the subject's response." The authors 
are "fully convinced that" the Binet Scale "has served its most 
important purpose and must shortly give way wholly to a superior 
method." 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 235 

should be taken out of the group and, if possible, 
placed in new groups more nearly homogeneous. 

Feeble-minded pupils. An I. Q. of below 70 
indicates definite feeble-mindedness. " Of the 
feeble-minded, those between 50 and 70 I. Q. include 
most of the morons (high, middle, low), those 
between 20 or 25 and 50 are ordinarily to be classed 
as imbeciles, and those below 20 or 25 as idiots. 
. . . School defectives are practically all of the 
moron and border-line grades, and these it is impor- 
tant teachers should be able to recognize. " 1 Pupils 
of extreme subnormal intelligence are now, in many 
cities, being systematically discovered and segregated 
in special classes under specially trained teachers. 2 

1 Terman, The Measure of Intelligence, p. 79. 

2 Philadelphia uses a very compact printed form, summarizing 
the tests and affording blanks for records "grouped according to 
final revision by Binet and Simon, 191 1 ; arranged for convenience 
of examiners in Philadelphia public schools." 

Providence, the first city in the country to organize a class for 
defective children, in 1894, uses a card "Pupil's Record of Intel- 
ligence — Terman Revision." 

In Grand Rapids, 1916, of 210 pupils in special classes, 49 were 
imbeciles, 118 morons. 

In Oakland the examiner's estimate was that of 1700 pupils 
examined, 9 per cent were imbecile and idiot and 23 per cent 
moron. ' 

Of 361 pupils in ungraded classes in the Bronx, New York City, 
there were 189 imbeciles, 164 morons, 8 doubtful. 



236 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Bright pupils. In our school organizations, un- 
usually gifted pupils have received less recognition 
than the subnormal. Frequently they are, in fact, 
the most retarded of all groups of pupils. Occa- 
sional plans have been tried to enable the bright 
pupils to pursue the school course more rapidly than 
the average. If the school is large enough special 
rapid-advancement classes can be organized in 
which pupils accomplish three units of work in two 
units of time. To the unthinking teachers and 
others, these classes seem particularly easy to handle. 
On the contrary, they present special problems 
which, in the interest of the exceptional pupils, 
must be intrusted only to skillful teachers par- 
ticularly adapted to the work. 

Average pupils. When provision has been made 
for the special instruction of the unusually sub- 
normal and the unusually supernormal, there re- 
main the great bulk of the pupils, those whose 
I. Q. ranges from 70 to, say, 120. 1 Here is a varia- 
tion among pupils neither feeble-minded nor very 
bright which is wide in extent. Many schemes of 

1 For studies of variations in pupils' ^abilities, retardation, 
elimination, etc., see George D. Strayer and Edward L. Thorndike, 
Educational Administration. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 237 

grading have been devised with the view of enabling 
these pupils to progress at differing rates of speed. 
Among them are : (a) More frequent regular pro- 
motions, three or four times a year, or even as often 
as every six weeks, (b) Grading within grades. 
Grouping pupils of a certain grade into subgrades 
for the study of those subjects in which the rate of 
progress is most likely to vary with different pupils. 

(c) Promotion by subjects, enabling pupils to 
continue studies not yet mastered without at the 
same time repeating work already accomplished. 

(d) Special small classes under competent teachers 
for slow-moving or for fast-moving pupils. 1 (e) Or- 
ganization of classes into parallel courses of differ- 

1 "Our system provides for double promotions, elastic pro- 
motions, and for special classes within a school. These special 
classes are presided over by a coaching-teacher whose special 
function it is to help both bright children and retarded children. 
The classes are not large. We try to limit the number which a 
coaching-teacher shall have in her room at any one time to eight. 
... At present we have 62 coaching- teachers in our elementary 
schools for which we pay a total salary of some $70,000. Our 
expense for the Psychological Clinic may total $5000 more. We 
feel convinced that every dollar we are investing in this depart- 
ment of our schools is an economy rather than an expense. Our 
Board of Education indorses it heartily without a question." — 
Supt. Wm. M. Davidson, Pittsburgh, quoted by Elizabeth L. 
Woods, " Provision for the Gifted Child," in Educational Admin- 
istration and Supervision, vol. 3, p. 143. 



238 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

ent speeds so that pupils may cross over from one 
speed to another at frequent points. 1 

One of the most important duties of the prin- 
cipal is to place each pupil in the class in which 
the greatest service can be rendered him. The large 

1 Notably the Cambridge plan, whereby pupils can do six years' 
work in either four, five, or six years. For description of the "new 
Cambridge plan," as well as of other plans and of "fundamental 
reorganizations," see Ell wood P. Cubberley, Public School Adminis- 
tration. 

Fundamental reorganizations, such as the "six and six plan," 
are not here discussed because of their broader scope and the fact 
that there is a rapidly growing literature on the subject. 

Mr. Frank B. Spaulding, principal, Public School 48, Brooklyn, 
New York, organizes his classes so that each grade has two divi- 
sions. The advanced-division class of each grade spends little 
time in reviewing the work of the preceding grade, covers the 
work of the regular grade in about fourteen weeks, and spends the 
remaining time in the work of the succeeding grade. 

This organization enables the brightest pupils to advance one 
and one half grades per term. Thus the exceptional pupil may 
make six years' work in four. His progress would be : 1A2, 2A1 ; 
2B2, 3B1 ; 4A2, 5A1 ; 5B2, 6B1. On the other hand, the dull 
pupil may progress at least by half steps and feel that he is moving. 

The plan facilitates promotions during the term as the differ- 
ence between successive grades is so slight that a small amount of 
extra help may easily bridge the gap. 

At the end of the term the pupil has four alternatives instead of 
two, e.g. from 3A1, the very dull or much absent pupil remains 
in 3A1 ; the dull goes to 3A2 ; the normal to 3B1 ; the very bright 
to 3B2, 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 



239 



number of pupils per teacher makes teaching in mass 
inevitable ; nevertheless the individual must ever be 
kept in mind in all teaching and in all school and 
class management. Teachers must be constantly re- 
mindedlthat their classes are made up of individuals 
and that they must not lose the pupil in the class. 

Mr. Frank B. Stevens, principal, Public School 94, 
Brooklyn, New York, during the term receives from each 
teacher a graph which clearly presents the class situation 
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240 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

3. The departmental plan. One of the present- 
day features in organization closely related to the 
matter of grading is the " departmental " system 
which introduces into the higher grades of the 
elementary school the prevailing method of the 
secondary schools whereby each teacher carries one 
or two subjects through successive grades, instead 
of teaching all the subjects of one grade. Whether 
this system is preferable to a non-departmental 
organization depends largely upon local conditions. 
At least there is no unanimity of opinion as to its 
value, strong claims being made both for and 
against its use. 

Arguments in favor of departmental plan. The 
chief arguments advanced in favor of the depart- 
mental plan 1 are : 

(a) On behalf of the teacher. 

1. The teacher cannot master all subjects. 

This would seem to be something of a reflection upon 
the ability of the teacher. It seems a little absurd to 

1 New Orleans requires it. "Departmental teaching shall 
be adopted in all grades of the Grammar Schools" (5th-8th 
grades). "A particular teacher, selected with proper regard for 
his fitness, shall be employed to teach in each department, but 
related branches may be included in one department." Installa- 
tion in fifth grades "may be deferred," 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 241 

talk of " specialists' ' in the subjects of the elementary- 
school curriculum, particularly where the more "special" 
subjects of music, drawing, etc., are supervised, if not 
taught, by trained artists. A specialist in arithmetic? 
A specialist in spelling? In secondary and college edu- 
cation the student chooses his program from among 
a host of optional studies, and it would be unrea- 
sonable, of course, to expect any one teacher to carry, 
for instance, Greek, French, calculus, biology, rhetoric, 
and economics. In the elementary school, on the 
contrary, the pupil takes the "whole dose," and it 
seems not unreasonable to expect the teacher to do 
the same. 

2. The teacher's preparation is thorough and 
easier. 

Being concerned with but one subject, her mind can 
readily prepare at different levels along the same line of 
thought; and the subject being that in which, pre- 
sumably, she is most interested, intensive study will 
result. 

3. High scholarship in the teacher is encouraged. 

4. Teachers may become advanced specialists. 

This opens the way for the promotion of elementary 
school teachers into the high schools, and thus gives them 
added stimulus and incentive to enthusiastic work, 
which reacts in its benefit to the pupils. 



242 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

(b) On behalf of the pupils. 

5. The teachers must prepare. 

As each set of pupils meets each teacher but once in the 
day, the teacher cannot afford to leave a single period 
unprepared. Teaching the same class all day, she might 
slight one or two lessons without its being noticed by the 
pupils. 

6. The teaching is more inspiring. 

The teacher is interested in her " specialty" and is 
herself inspired by her subject and by the change of 
classes. 

7. The teaching is more effective. 

The teacher can follow up the individual pupil from 
grade to grade through his successive difficulties in the 
subject she teaches. 

8. Pupils come in contact with many minds. 

They are relieved from the tedium of listening to one 
voice for rive or six hours daily and of reacting con- 
stantly toward the same personality. The following 
colloquy between a boy and his chum was overheard 
at promotion time: " Who's your teacher next term?" 
"Aw, Brown." "Well, what's the matter with Brown? 
She's all right." "Sure, she's all right, but I had her 
three terms and I'm sick of looking at her." 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 243 

9. The transition from elementary to high school 
is easier. 

And yet the transition from single-class instruction 
to departmental has to be made sometime. Shall it be 
made at the end of the sixth school year, when it involves 
a much larger number of pupils, or at the end of the 
eighth year ? 

(c) On behalf of the administration. 

10. The work of the school may be planned more 
systematically and completely, and be better unified. 

The work in each subject is better unified when the 
one teacher carries out the plan for merging each term's 
work into the next, than when the transition from term 
to term is made by several teachers. 

n. There is a saving of time and effort. 

A maximal amount of energy is secured in the service 
of any group of teachers when they are working in direc- 
tions most agreeable to them. 

12. Rooms may be equipped for each subject. 

This is perhaps the most substantial gain made under 
this plan. All the teaching of history can be done in a 
single room fitted with charts, maps, historical library, 
etc., and a single collection of this material suffices for 
several classes. Similarly, a room for geography may 
have its equipment of globes, atlases, gazetteers, mold- 



244 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

ing boards, stereoscopes, and views ; the room for draw- 
ing, its models, casts, artist's materials ; the room for 
mathematics, its weights and measures, charts, models, 
statistical reference-books; and so on through all the 
subjects of the curriculum. 

Arguments against the departmental plan. 

Against the plan it may be said : 

(a) On behalf of the teacher. 

i. It tends to narrow the teacher. 

A teacher devoting herself day in and day out to a 
single subject is prone sooner or later to run in the single 
groove and to lose that interest in the varied things of 
life which makes for general culture. Proper supervi- 
sion by the principal ought, however, to prevent such a 
condition. 

(b) On behalf of the pupils. 

2. The subjects are taught instead of the pupils. 

There is danger that the child be lost sight of, and 
the subject become the center of the teacher's interest. 
She becomes the teacher of " arithmetic" instead of the 
teacher of the "Seven A Boys." 

3. The personal care of pupils is lessened. 

Each teacher has four or five times as many pupils 
as she would have under the other plan. She is thus 
"spread thin" over the classes, and her knowledge of 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 245 

and attention to individual pupils and their needs can be 
but a fourth or fifth of what it otherwise would be. 
Again, as a result of the division of responsibility, there 
is danger that each teacher may take the view that she 
must not show special interest in a pupil, either because 
the other teachers might resent it, or on the assumption 
that some other teacher is probably taking the necessary 
interest. 

4. The demands of specialists are excessive. 

Each teacher, held strictly responsible for results in a 
given subject, pushes her pupils to the utmost. What- 
ever they may do in their other studies, they must do her 
work. So, with all the teachers urging in this way, the 
demand upon the time and energy of the pupils amounts 
to an overpowering total. This danger should be 
avoided by careful supervision, whereby the principal 
has frequent conferences with teachers, issues definite 
directions limiting the amount of work assignable, and 
assures himself that his directions are followed. 

5. The studying is done largely outside the class. 

Each teacher jealously guards all the time assigned 
to her subject from encroachment for purposes of study. 
This, again, is a matter for intelligent supervision. 

(c) On behalf of the administration. 

6. The making of the time schedule is difficult. 
So many factors are involved. In a large school, mak- 
ing the schedule requires from the most expert of prin- 



246 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

cipals the expenditure of an amount of energy possibly 
disproportionate to the results attained. 

7. The time schedule is unsatisfactory. 

The factor of fatigue has to be almost entirely neg- 
lected. If the same teacher has to conduct classes in 
mathematics throughout a school day, half of the classes 
are bound to be pushed to hard exertion at a time when 
the natural "curve of vitality" is at or near a minimum. 
The teacher also is subject to greater fatigue strain. 

8. Disorder of pupils is encouraged. 

Leaving pupils unsupervised, if it is the teachers who 
change rooms, or the periodic passing of pupils, from room 
to room, if the pupils change rooms, tends to confusion, 
if not to actual disorder. But this, too, is a matter for 
supervision and regulation. The relaxation gained by 
pupils by a few minutes , change of position ought to re- 
act favorably upon their conduct during the succeeding 
period. 

9. Correlation is secured with difficulty, if at all. 

This is an offset to advantage 10. Strong coordina- 
tion of work from grade to grade is gained at the expense 
of proper correlation. 

10. It is difficult to secure competent substitutes. 

Almost any substitute can go into a class and "hold 
it" after a fashion for a day or two. The same person 
would have much greater difficulty in attempting to carry 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 247 

the work of a subject in several classes. Regular teachers 
of lower grades can be understudied for such emergencies. 
The superintendent of one of the largest cities in the 
United States abandoned the departmental plan on ac- 
count of this single disadvantage, which in that city 
proved serious. 

11. The family spirit of the school is weakened. 

The pupils in the elementary school are children, and 
though a large percentage of those in the last two years 
are adolescent, they still need the guiding hand and 
personal touch of a friendly teacher who shall be all-in- 
all to them — who shall be as the law assumes, in loco 
parentis. 

12. Administrative energy expended is out of 
proportion to the results gained. 

A large amount of energy is given out by principal 
and teachers in making the plan " work." More thought 
in the construction of the program and oversight in 
administering it, more frequent conferences with teachers, 
more detailed supervision of pupils' conduct, more prob- 
lems of adjustment — all these are factors in the amount 
of time and energy expended by the principal. If the 
results gained are commensurate, then of course their 
cost is not to be considered, and will not be by the con- 
scientious principal ; but if they are not, then the school 
will profit more by the principal's doing of other things. 



248 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Using the departmental plan. In working on 
the departmental plan, 1 compliance with the follow- 
ing principles will probably increase its effectiveness : 

i. Each teacher must have more than one subject. 

This will help to answer criticisms i, 2, 4, and 5. 

2. The teachers must be in harmony with one 
another and fairly well satisfied with their assign- 
ment of subjects. 

If there are discordant elements among the teachers, 
it would be well to postpone operating the plan until 
the discordant ones can be eliminated. So far as it is 
possible, each teacher should have subjects of her own 
choice, subjects in which she is especially interested and 
subjects which she can teach well. 

3. The respective advantages of having the 
pupils change rooms and having the teachers change 
must be determined. 

By the former, the advantage of specially equipped 
rooms is gained ; by the latter, the advantage of less con- 
fusion in the corridors. Under ordinary conditions, the 
former outweighs the latter. 

4. Each class should have a " class teacher " 
for general guidance. 

1 See Leon W. Goldrich, "The Preparation of a Departmental 
Program," in School Work, vol. 3, p. 404. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 249 

The class teacher should be with "her" pupils at the 
opening and at the closing periods and for some other 
considerable length of time. It also seems advisable 
that she have her own class during the entire afternoon 
session. This teacher should be responsible for the class 
records, and through her efforts objections 3 and 11, and 
perhaps 4 and 5, ought to be met. 

5. The principal must arrange for the proper 
rating of pupils. 

If a single rating in all subjects is required, each sub- 
ject must be " weighted" in proportion to its importance 
and the number of periods, before calculating averages. 
Deportment may be rated on a uniform rather than an 
average basis. If three teachers rate a pupil Excellent, 
and one rates him Bad it seems illogical to say that his 
deportment was Satisfactory. 

6. Special records of attendance must be kept, 
so that no pupil may " cut " any period unnoticed. 

7. There are advantages in omitting the highest 
grade from the departmental plan. 

It gives an opportunity for the " graduating" teachers 
to correlate and round off the work of the various teachers 
in the grades below, and to give a finishing touch of 
personal influence to the pupils, providing, of course, 
that these teachers are expertly qualified for this special 
work. 



250 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

4. The rating of pupils. However the principal 
may regard the subject of marks, estimates, and 
ratings, in its academic aspects, he faces the practical 
fact that in every system of schools some uniform 
provision is made for the periodic rating of pupils 
and the reporting of ratings to parents. In some 
cities ratings are required in extended detail, a 
percentage mark being given in each of many sub- 
jects of the curriculum; in others, a mere state- 
ment as to whether the pupil's work has been satis- 
factory or not is all that is required. The tendency 
seems to be away from arithmetical ratings, and 
toward a few adjectives or arbitrary literal char- 
acters which represent various degrees of proficiency ; 
away from a detailed statement accounting for every 
subject studied, and toward a general statement as 
to the character of the pupil's work as a whole. 
In some cases the pupil's effort is rated separately 
from his proficiency, and in nearly all systems the 
pupil's deportment is given a separate rating. 

Whatever the prescribed system under which the 
principal works, there are a few general considera- 
tions which will influence him in carrying out its 
provisions. 

On the mechanical side, the principal must secure 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 251 

promptness and accuracy in the records made by the 
teachers. If the records are due at a stated time of 
the week or month, the principal must see that they 
are recorded by that time. It is his further duty to 
make sure that teachers and pupils clearly under- 
stand the meaning and significance of the rating- 
marks employed. 

Report cards. Report cards are usually sent to 
the parents periodically for them to sign and return 
to the school. It is to be remembered that the card 
is but a transcript, and is not the original record; 
therefore, the record by the teacher must be made 
first and the report card written afterward. As the 
card is a direct message from school to home, its 
appearance should create a standard. 1 

The principal may often enhance the importance 
of the ratings in the minds of pupils by distributing 
the " cards " himself. The judicious word of praise 

1 Mr. Frank B. Spaulding, principal, Public School 48, Brooklyn, 
New York, uses this form to the parent : 

" has lost h . . . . report card. 

This is a serious matter as pupils sometimes make use of extra 
cards to conceal from parents a record of poor work. Please sign 
both the enclosed card and this letter and see that the card that 
your child brings home each month is marked 'Duplicate.' If 
the original card should be found, please return it to the 
teacher." 



252 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

to the praiseworthy and the word of comment quietly 

spoken to the unsatisfactory, have their effect. If 

properly handled in this way, the report card is 

given a dignity and importance that are valuable; 

on the other hand, any system of distribution by the 

principal should be so flexible as to take into account 

conditions local to any class, or temporary conditions 

applicable to all classes, which may make it advisable 

that the distribution should be made by the teacher. 

Occasionally there is difficulty in securing the 

return of report cards with the parent's signature. 

If, as is usually the fact, this is the fault of the pupil, 

the teacher must follow up the individual case so 

closely as to prevent tardy return of the cards 

becoming a habit. But if the fault is the parent's, 

it must be remembered that the school cannot compel 

the parent to sign his name. 1 The safest attitude 

to take is that the card is issued as a courtesy, as a 

transcript of the record and not as the record itself, 

on the assumption that the parent is interested in 

the school progress of his child; consequently, if 

the parent refuses to sign the card, as a few do on 

1 Worcester uses a printed form notifying the parent that his 
child "is in danger of receiving ' D '," etc. An acknowledgment 
form is attached, "Tear off on this line and return this part to the 
Principal at once." 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 253 

the ground that the rating is unfair and with the 
curious theory that a refusal may in some way 
alter the record, the school may accept it as meaning 
that the parent does not appreciate the courtesy and 
that no further cards need be issued to his child. 

Ratings by teachers. As to the ratings them- 
selves, the principal must secure . judicious marking 
by the teachers. Teachers must keep in mind that 
ratings usually should not be based upon written 
memoranda alone, certainly not upon written 
" tests " alone ; that a brief absence need not neces- 
sarily interfere seriously with a pupil's proficiency 
and progress ; that relative excellence of work is what 
is to be recorded and not an absolute condition 
measured against perfection ; and that under ordi- 
nary conditions, if a class as a whole does not do 
satisfactory work, it is the teacher's fault. 

In School Credit for Home Work, L. R. Alderman elabo- 
rates the idea of giving school credit to a pupil in recogni- 
tion of his performance of home duties, such as getting 
ready for school on time, going to bed regularly, splitting 
wood, building fires, caring for animals, doing errands, 
cleaning, sweeping, etc. " Should not the school be 
simply a group of people come together for improvement 
with the teacher as their best friend, ready to discuss and 
promote everything that seems worth while?" 



254 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

The principal will have to inspect ratings peri- 
odically to correct lapses along these lines. 1 Par- 

1 If teachers are required to file a summary of their ratings it 
impresses upon them their distribution of the grades of rating. 
I Mr. Henry Hein, principal, Public School 40, Bronx, New 
York, uses the following form, monthly: 

Report Cards 



of CLASS.. 



[ 1 



Room 

No. on Reg 

No. Cards 






I 


DATE 

[ 


Teacher 

] 


NO. OF 


EFF. 


PROF. 


DEP. 


DEFICIENCIES IN: 


A 








ARITH. 




B+ 








COMP. 




B 








COOK. 




C 








DRAW. 




D 








GEOG. 




TOTAL 








GRAM. 




HIST. 




PENMAN 




SEW.-CON. 




LITER. 




PHYS.TR 




SHOP. 




MUSIC 




READ. 




SPELL 




NATURE 




SCI. 




MEMORY 





Remarks 



(Over) 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 



2 55 



ticularly, he must warn teachers against permitting 
pupils to suffer an unjustifiable drop in their 

Philadelphia carries the record through the school year on a card 
form as follows : 



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GRADE 


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256 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

ratings at the beginning of each new term. The 
pupil is promoted with a maximum rating, and then 
his new teacher, in order to impress him with the 
fact that now that he is in her class he must work, 
gives him a low rating the first month, whereas he 
has actually worked more faithfully and effectively 
than in the previous month. The strange environ- 
ment of the new class has made its impression on the 
pupil and he has probably made a more or less con- 
scious effort to adjust himself to it ; the rating which 
seems to fail to appreciate this effort affects the pupil 
as an injustice and discourages continued effort. 

Where the system provides a separate mark for 
effort and proficiency, the principal must look out 
for such cases as a pupil with excellent effort and 
very poor results, or a pupil with unsatisfactory 
effort and excellent results. In either case it would 
seem that the pupil is misgraded, — too high in the 
former case and too low in the latter. 

5. The promotion of pupils. Certain uniform 
regulations regarding the promotion of pupils are in 
force in every system of schools. Promotions may be 
made regularly at the end of a " term " varying in 
length in different cities ; the most general practice 
provides for two terms in each year. There are 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 257 

arguments for and against a short term, but as the 
principal has little to do with fixing the period, they 
are not considered here. The method of determining 
promotions is in some systems fixed even to details, 
but usually considerable latitude is allowed the prin- 
cipals and teachers. 

A few suggestions are offered on the general 
subject. 

a. Promotions should not be based solely upon 
final examinations or tests, either written or oral. 
Many a hard-working, conscientious pupil of nerv- 
ous temperament is less able to pass successfully 
a written examination than some happy-go-lucky, 
careless classmate. 

b. The " educational value " of the various sub- 
jects of the curriculum should be taken into account 
and the pupil's work in each given proportionate 
credit. An arithmetical average of a pupil's results 
in English, mathematics, history, geography, draw- 
ing, and music, for instance, might not fairly repre- 
sent his all-round ability, for a high music rating 
due to native talent in that particular direction 
might more than offset a low rating in English with 
its subtopics of composition, reading, memorizing, 
spelling, and grammar. 



258 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

c. Probably the best plan of promotion is to 
forward all pupils whom the teacher regards as 
unquestionably ready, and to give a written ex- 
amination to settle the cases regarding which the 
teacher is in doubt. Even if the practice is to 
promote upon the teacher's estimate alone, the 
pupil should have the right of appeal and the right 
to demand a formal test of his fitness. It is, there- 
fore, wise for the principal to anticipate such appeals 
by giving a formal examination to all pupils regarded 
by the teachers as deficient. The record of such 
examinations, together with the pupils' answer 
papers, should, of course, be preserved, so that 
when an appeal is made the principal is armed with 
documentary evidence. 

d. A pupil should be promoted: (i) when he 
has satisfactorily completed the work of his grade ; 
(2) when he is prepared to do the work of the suc- 
ceeding grade. A pupil may not have complied 
with (1) on account of absence or other circum- 
stances, and yet comply with (2). 

Whether misconduct should operate to prevent 
the promotion of a pupil is perhaps a debatable 
question. It is safe to say that it should not, but 
that it does ; that is, as a matter of record a pupil 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 259 

who has misbehaved and nevertheless has been 
proficient in his school work should not be kept back 
by his misbehavior; as a matter of fact, his mis- 
behavior if at all serious will operate to prevent his 
reaching satisfactory proficiency. 1 

It is also a question as to whether a pupil should 
ever be officially promoted on " length of service " 
alone. 2 It may be said that a pupil who has 
already spent two half-year terms in a grade without 
getting satisfactory results ought, for his own good, 
to be held back to attempt the work of that grade 
until he succeeds in mastering it. If he has spent 
two terms in a grade where learning to read is the 
chief business, probably he should stay the third 
term in order to attend to that business. If, how- 
ever, he has spent two terms in one grade, and has 
accomplished satisfactory results in some subjects 
and has fallen behind in others, he probably should 

1 Cincinnati recognizes conduct as a factor: "A satisfactory 
standing in daily work, with good deportment, shall be accepted 
as evidence of the ability of pupils to do successfully the work of 
the next higher grade." — 34, sec. 1. 

2 "Any pupil having been twice over a course shall be permitted 
to pass to the next grade, provided his record shows that he has 
been present at least 75 per cent of the days of the term and his 
application and deportment have been satisfactory." — Syra- 
cuse, 74. 



260 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

go ahead. If he is an all-round dull pupil who has 
already lost interest in the subject matter of the 
grade and who has gotten from that grade and 
from that teacher all that he can ever get, he prob- 
ably should be promoted to a new field. He may be 
passed along in this way without serious injury until 
he reaches the legal age for leaving for work, but a 
diploma or certificate of graduation ought not to be 
given him on such a basis of continued promotions. 
The word probably has been used advisedly. The 
individual case should be considered every time. 
The formulation of any inflexible rule that no pupil 
should remain in a grade three terms, or the contrary 
rule that no pupil should be promoted who has not 
rigidly qualified for promotion, would react un- 
favorably upon the life of the school, and should 
be avoided. A pupil who is much over age and has 
not earned promotion may properly be put forward 
on the ground that a large factor in his failure is 
his sensitiveness to the fact that he is out of his 
social set, a sensitiveness which is natural and more 
commonly present than many teachers recognize. 

Such a pupil may be kept officially in a certain grade 
and permitted to share the activities of one or more 
higher-grade classes. He and his fellow pupils will un- 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 261 

derstand that he is not gaining a standing to which he 
is not entitled. He will, however, be getting the most 
that the school can give him, without compromising with 
his "record." 

e. A pupil may be promoted " on trial " on the 
ground that his shortcomings were due to unavoid- 
able absence and that his general ability is such as 
to warrant the belief that he can make up his defi- 
ciency and maintain standing in the new grade. 1 

1 The principal of Public School o, Brooklyn, New York, uses 
the following form to parent : 

Your has been promoted to 

on "condition," being deficient in 

and weak in This advance is with the 

understanding that if does not give 

evidence of earnest effort to become proficient in these subjects 

will be returned to former grade. 

We ask your hearty cooperation in securing regular habits of 
home preparation and attendance at school. Home work in the 
7th and 8th years should take from one hour to an hour and a half, 
and in the 5th and 6th years not less than one hour. This work is 
assigned for each day in the week. Any failure to bring home this 
amount of work should be promptly reported to 

Yours respectfully, 

William M. Rainey, 
Principal. 



Class Teacher. 
Please acknowledge receipt of this or return with your signature. 



Parent's Signature. 



262 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

/. It should be possible to promote pupils occa- 
sionally during a term, but under normal conditions 
this should be done sparingly. It is better to pro- 
mote a bright pupil at the beginning of the term on 
trial than to keep him in the lower grade and then 
later in the term " jump " him ahead. 

g. It should be possible to reduce a pupil in grade 
at any time, but this, too, should be a measure 
largely of a disciplinary character (disciplinary in 
the broader sense of the term), and to be used spar- 
ingly. It should be done only (i) after ample 
evidence, written the best, that the pupil's lack of 
effort justifies it, (2) after conference or, at least, 
attempted conference with the parent, (3) with the 
parent's consent, or better, at his request. A good 
plan is to make " trial " promotions of all doubt- 
ful pupils at the beginning of the term, so that it 
is clearly understood that promotion has not been 
earned, and that if the pupil's further effort does 
not justify his retention in the advanced grade he 
is to be replaced in the lower grade without 
question. 

h. In promoting pupils, even in a large school, 
the best disposition of each pupil should be made. 
It is often the case that the best interests of a pupil 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 263 

demand that, after promotion, he shall be in a 
certain class of his grade : he may have friends 
who are a source of inspiration to him and with 
whom he should be continued; he may have com- 
panions from whom it is wise to detach him; he 
may have a temperament that will be better under- 
stood by one teacher than by another ; he may be 
better off in a mixed class than in a class composed 
only of his own sex, or vice versa; etc. Similarly, 
if he fails of promotion, his best interests may 
demand that he should remain with the teacher he 
has had, or that he be transferred to another class 
and teacher in the grade. All of these individual 
matters should receive attention; but in a school 
of hundreds or thousands of pupils this can be done 
only by careful and systematic planning. 

The following plan is suggested : Teachers enter rec- 
ords of promotional examinations on sheets arranged 

thus: 

EXAMINATION FOR PROMOTION 

Class 19 



Name 



Days 

Absent 



Age 



Grades 
Repeated 



Term 
Rating 



Subjects 



Exam. Dispo- 



Av. 



SITION 



264 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

'*. Each teacher files this record with the principal only 
after personal conference with him ; together they decide, 
as to each pupil, whether he shall be promoted regu- 
larly, promoted on trial, or held back. The decision is 
entered in the last column. 

The completion of this record determines the promotion 
figures for each class. Each teacher files two sheets, 
printed, let us say, in black, the first of which is 
arranged thus : 

PROMOTED 
Boys, Girls, from Room , 



No. 



Name According to Term 



Rank 



Av. 



No. 



Name According to Term 



Rank 



Av. 



The second of the two sheets has the same arrange- 
ment but is headed Non-Promoted. 

If the teacher thinks a particular disposition should be 
made of a pupil, such as not promoting him to a mixed 
class or keeping him in her own class instead of leaving 
him back with another teacher, she notes her suggestion 
opposite the name on the Black Sheet. 

From the Black Sheets, the principal makes entries 
in columns 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, and 14, in the following 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 



265 



SCHOOL PROMOTION RECORD 



.19 





a 



2 


BBS 


Promoted 


Left Back 


Register 
after Promotion 


w 


Boys 


Girls 


Boys 


Girls 


Boys 


Girls 


u 

I 


1 

pq 
3 


3 

4 


3 

s 


u 

s 

3 

6 


S 





7 


- 
8 


u 



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3 

9 



10 


"3 
11 


u 

— 

£ 

12 


E 





13 


14 


Z 
IS 


e 

1 

16 


17 


u 

1 
IS 


s 



£ 


■X 
19 


"3 

20 


s 

3 
21 


s 



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22 



By adding the total Non-Promotions in all the classes of 
a given grade to the total promotions from all the classes 
of the grade below, he obtains the total new register * 
for the grade. He apportions this equally among the 
classes of the grade and thus gets entries for columns 17 
and 20. He then apportions the boys in 5 to the differ- 
ent rooms to which it is possible to send them and makes 
the corresponding entries in 6 and 7 ; the girls in 8 are 

1 In many cities the term "belonging" is used instead of register. 
Each city has its own definition of the terms, e.g. Baltimore: 
"The number of pupils 'belonging' shall be determined in the 
following manner : A child who has been absent six consecutive 
half-days (three in case of half-day pupils) shall on the seventh or 
fourth half-day be marked 'dropped' on the class teacher's records. 
When he returns he shall be marked 'reentered' on the records. 
Absence caused by death, removal or transfer shall cause the name 
to be dropped at once." — VI, 13. 



266 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 



similarly apportioned and entries made under 9 and 10, 
etc., completing the record. 

He next checks the names on the Black Sheets from 
the figures on the School Promotion Record, indicating 
the rooms that they are to be sent to, and returns the 
Black Sheets to the teachers together with a set of, say, 
Red Sheets arranged thus : 



Boys, 



PROMOTED 

.Girls, from Room. 



to Room_. 



No. Names, Alphabetically Born 



Residence 



Parent's Name 



and the same, headed Non-Promoted. 

There will be one sheet for each different transfer of 
pupils, making, in practice, from two to perhaps eight 
sheets for each set. The teacher keeps the Black Sheets 
and returns the Red Sheets. The Principal reassembles 
the Red Sheets, pasting all of those of the same "To 
Room" together, and sends these, which show the rolls 
of the new classes, to the respective teachers. At pro- 
motion time each teacher promotes from her Black 
Sheets and receives and checks up her promotions from 
her Red Sheets. 

6. The classroom work. The direct factor in 
the scholastic progress of pupils is 3 of course, the 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 267 

work of the teacher with her class. The following 
suggestions may serve to summarize the classroom 
problem from the standpoint of the responsibility 
of the principal. 

Training the new teacher. In these days of 
professional training it might be thought that a 
licensed teacher, once secured and placed in charge 
of a class, would be foreordained to certain success. 
As a matter of fact, not only will she need practical 
guidance along the lines discussed in the foregoing 
chapters, but, constantly during the early years of 
her teaching and occasionally throughout her entire 
career, she will need encouraging reminders as to the 
fundamental principles of classroom management. 

Presumably the incoming teacher has been trained 
in pedagogy, but rarely can she, unaided and unin- 
spired, immediately carry that training intelligently 
into the daily detail of practical work with a class. 
Presumably, too, she has studied the history of 
education, familiarized herself with the significant 
world movements, and learned the secrets of the 
great masters of the art of teaching; vanquished 
all the perplexities of psychology and laid bare the 
secret processes of the human mind; educed and 
induced and deduced all the known methods of 



268 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

teaching. But fortunate indeed is the teacher who, 
face to face with a concrete class of fifty in the days 
of her novitiate, can constrict world movements 
within the limits of her room, recall even the names 
of the master pedagogues, discover any psychologic 
principles permeating her environment, or put 
method into the prevailing madness. 

In time, with more or less aid, the beginning 
teacher will reduce chaos to order and arrive at the 
point where her professional progress really begins. 
The principal may then lead the teacher to review 
the literature she studied while in training, but 
which she is now prepared to appreciate with a 
background wholly lacking in the earlier days. 
She is prepared to perceive more clearly the full 
significance of education and the purpose of the 
public school, to understand aright the needs of 
pupils and the function of the teacher, and to apply 
native ingenuity to daily routine with increasing 
skill. 

The principal may assign one of his experienced 
teachers to act as special adviser to the new teacher. 
The older teacher, having an inspiring interest in the 
new teacher, will benefit by the contact and will find 
a professional satisfaction in having been selected. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 269 

The new teacher will be more ready to confess her 
difficulties to her mentor than to the principal. 

Classroom standards. It is a chief duty of the 
principal to lead the teacher, in the performance 
of her detailed work in the classroom, away from 
obsolete and inadequate standards. She must not 
regard education as merely a pouring-in and pump- 
ing-out process, or the recitation, important as it is, 
as the chief aim or sole activity of the school. 
Particularly must she appreciate the necessity for 
eliminating waste in her administration of the class- 
room. 1 

1 See Bagley, Classroom Management, Part I, with which every 
teacher should be familiar. 

" Violations of the laws of mental development and crude class 
administration lead to losses of time and effort which would not be 
tolerated in a properly managed business — losses resulting from : 
poor grading; poor grouping; awkward distribution of material; 
teaching form divorced from thought; teaching unrelated ideas; 
waiting for slow pupils ; combating wrong habits resulting from 
poor initial teaching. These and other sources of subtle waste 
exhaust the energy of the average teacher and leave her over- 
whelmed, discouraged, while twice the work required of the grade 
is done with ease and pleasure by the teacher who can either in- 
stinctively or reflectively apply to every phase of her problem 
the principle of economy." Miss Margaret McCloskey, General 
Supervisor, Newark, in Fiftieth Annual Report of the Board of 
Education, p. 204. 

"Before beginning class exercises teachers must get all necessary 



270 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Inattention. A fruitful source of waste is "in- 
attention." Inattention when it concerns only a 
single pupil or two, during a development lesson, for 
instance, cannot be regarded as a serious matter; 
but when it shows signs of becoming general, the 
teacher should rapidly apply the following criteria : 

1. Note the ventilation : if improper, regulate it ; 
if apparently satisfactory, then, 

2. Note the temperature : if abnormal, rectify 
it ; if normal, then, 

3. Note whether the pupils are fatigued : if they 
have been working too intensively or too continu- 
ously along one line and consequently are physically 
tired, change the subject ; if not, then, 

4. Note whether the pupils are wearied : if the 
teaching method has been dull and uninteresting 
and the pupils consequently are mentally bored, 
change the method, or give up the lesson until a 

supplies, as pencils, chalk (also maps, etc.), from the principal and 
library, and by so doing prevent wasting school time for this pur- 
pose." — 71. 

"No work whatever pertaining to the making of reports, or to 
the compilation of any school records, shall be done during teaching 
or school hours." — 77. 

"Teachers must not leave their rooms to converse with one 
another during teaching hours, except by permission of principals." 
— San Francisco, 81. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 271 

better method can be prepared, and in the mean- 
time change to an occupation that will command 
attention. 

"Work. The prevailing atmosphere of the class- 
room should be that of work. There is a value in 
play and it has its place in the school program, but 
we know that it cannot take the place of work. 
" Teachers and parents who do not teach the 
children under their control to work diligently, 
even to the point of normal fatigue, are doing them 
a serious injury. . . . Wise guidance is necessary 
in reaching that golden mean where the spirit re- 
sponds with readiness to the demands of labor, and 
with equal delight to the opportunity for play." 1 
There is a certain amount of work that a pupil must 
do in order to increase his capacity for work as well 
as to develop and maintain his self-respect. 

Some of the causes for pupils' failure to gain in 
capacity for work, which the principal must strive to 
remove, are: 

1. Teachers talk too much ; they occupy the center of 
the stage when many times they should be in the audi- 
ence or at most in the prompter's box. 

2. Pupils are not allowed sufficient time for thought 
and expression, but are ruthlessly interrupted by the 

1 Dresslar, School Hygiene, p. 18. 



272 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

teacher and other pupils. Cooperation gives way to com- 
petition. 

The promiscuous raising of hands by pupils anxious 
to help the one reciting is a prevalent habit which is 
usually unnecessary, disconcerting, discourteous, and 
altogether unjustifiable, and which, once in vogue, re- 
quires persistent attention before it is effectively re- 
pressed. There are times, of course, during a recitation 
when the raising of hands may legitimately and profitably 
be called for or permitted, but there must be intelligent 
control. The teacher also must guard against interrupt- 
ing the pupil's train of thought by nagging reminders and 
unnecessary remarks. 

3. The study period is neglected. Pupils' study, 
either in school or at home, may be for two purposes : 
(a) preparatory, to gather material for a subsequent 
lesson ; and (b) supplementary, dealing with the results 
of a previous lesson. In either case, this study should 
be independent of the teacher or other helper. Yet the 
pupil can reach complete independence only through the 
directive guidance of the skillful teacher who gradually 
and adroitly withdraws her support. 

4. Lessons are unwisely assigned. If too much or too 
difficult, a premium is put upon the pupil's getting help 
which weakens rather than strengthens him ; if too little 
or too easy, the pupil is left untrained in self -effort. The 
balance is struck when the work assigned can be accom- 
plished by the pupil in the time at his disposal, yet 
necessitates his making deliberate and honest effort. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 273 

5. Motives are neglected. Pupils are set at work 
which they regard only as a task because they see no 
immediate pleasure or future benefit which can possibly 
accrue from its performance. 

6. Textbooks are misused. Either they become a 
form of fetish, encouraging pupils in their natural help- 
lessness, or they are neglected and the pupils are de- 
prived of their rational aid. 

7. Standards and tests. The Binet and other 
scales make it possible to estimate the mental 
ability of the individual. It is equally important 
that the school should have some means by which 
to measure its accomplishment. Every teacher 
knows that it is not sufficient for her to undertake 
the teaching required of her by the official curricu- 
lum. She must make sure that she is meeting some 
success by frequently measuring her accomplish- 
ment as it is reflected in the accomplishment of her 
pupils in response to her instruction. At a glance 
it might seem a simple matter to make such meas- 
urements, but in truth it is complicated. 1 

1 Mental measurements "are subject to certain special difficul- 
ties, due chiefly to (1) the absence or imperfection of units in 
which to measure, (2) the lack of constancy in the facts measured, 
and (3) the extreme complexity of the measurements to be 
made." — Edward L. Thorndike, An Introduction to the Theory 
of Mental and Social Measurements, p. 4. 



274 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

If the business of the teacher were to teach a number of 
girls, let us say, to sew on buttons, a simple and complete 
measure of performance for each girl would be the ratio 
of buttons to minutes. When we consider the teacher's 
index of efficiency, however, we immediately encounter 
complications. If the business of the teacher were 
merely "to teach the girls how," then her work was over 
when every girl had learned how, regardless of speed. 
But how shall we measure the teacher ? Should she have 
taught twenty girls how in twenty minutes? If it took 
her thirty minutes is she only two thirds efficient? 
Suppose she teaches the next group of twenty girls how 
in ten minutes. Has she become 200 per cent efficient, 
or does it mean that these twenty girls are three times 
as apt as the others ? Or is there a combination of factors 
operating, — the teacher's ability and the respective 
aptitudes of the girls? 

Suppose the teacher's business is not only to teach the 
girls how, but also to follow that by training them to 
speed. If an untutored girl's natural rate of speed is 
twenty buttons per hour and the teacher trains her to 
do twenty-five, the girl has evidently become 25 per cent 
more efficient. If another teacher had trained the same 
girl to do thirty buttons per hour, the girl would have 
become 50 per cent more efficient. How about the two 
teachers ? Would the second be rated twice as efficient 
as the first? 

Suppose one teacher trains a girl with a rate of twenty 
to do twenty-five and another teacher trains a girl with 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 275 

a rate of thirty to do forty ; how do the two girls compare 
in accomplishment, and how do the two teachers ? 

All these questions are simple compared with those 
which arise when we attempt to measure the work of 
pupils and teachers in the ordinary affairs of school life. 
Consider the memorizing of spelling : pupils are of differ- 
ing degrees of mental intelligence; some of practically 
equal intelligence have a differing index of ability in learn- 
ing to spell ; each word presents its own peculiar difficul- 
ties of recognition. Moreover the class may be tired one 
day, cross another, six of them ill, nine of them worried, 
rive of them thinking of the coming evening's party — 
how much is the teacher to blame ? Suppose thirty spell 
all the words correctly to-day, but next month only 
twenty. Suppose in another class only fifteen spell the 
same words correctly to-day but twenty-five of them can 
do it next month. Which class measures the higher, and 
is it the class or the teacher ? 

These considerations only hint at the difficulties en- 
countered when we try to devise measuring scales for 
pupils' endeavor which shall be in any way accurate and 
fair to pupils and teachers. 

Standardized tests. For years, through rain and 
snow and fair weather, teachers have tested pupils 
and principals have tested pupils and teachers by 
examinations in every conceivable subject of the 
curriculum. To-day there is a distinct movement 



276 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

to check up this practice with questionings as to 
the scientific validity of many of our traditional 
tests. The effort is being made to replace sub- 
jective opinion and guess as to what ought to be 
with objective measures of accomplishment based 
on scientific investigation. It is probably too early 
to attempt any definite judgment on the standards 
already devised or upon the whole movement to 
establish such standards. 1 Nevertheless the prin- 
cipal must be familiar with the spirit and purpose 
of the movement and he should have a practical 
familiarity with the leading standardized tests. 
By their use in his school he may at least approxi- 
mately measure his work with that in other schools 
and school systems. 

1 Professor Cubberley says that the movement is so important 
"in terms of the future of administrative service that it bids fair 
to change, in the course of time, the whole character of school 
administration." — Public School Administration, p. 325. 

P. W. Horn, in Supplementary Portland Survey, April, 191 7, 
says: "It should furthermore be kept in mind that there are many 
things about a school system which can never be definitely meas- 
ured or stated with mathematical accuracy. Just where the line 
is to be drawn between the measurable and the non-measurable 
elements that enter into a school is a matter concerning which 
there is much difference of opinion. In other words, the element 
of opinion enters to some extent even into the matter of the pos- 
sibility of measurement." 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 277 

"The great problem of measurement in education, 
therefore, is to construct objective or universal scales, 
about the use of which there can be no misunderstanding 
when they are placed in the hands of competent teachers. 
Every such scale must fulfill at least three essential re- 
quirements : (1) It must measure a desired product'; 
(2) it must be so simple in its application that it is suit- 
able for ordinary classroom use ; (3) it must not require 
an undue amount of time in administration." 1 

" Standardized tests are not 'playthings.' Neither 
are they teaching devices. They are instruments whose 
function is to reveal the conditions which exist so that 
the teacher's efforts to instruct her pupils can be made 
more effective. " 2 

1 J. C. Chapman and G. P. Rush, The Scientific Measurement of 
Classroom Products, p. 5. Contains summary of scales in various 
subjects. 

2 W. S. Monroe, J. C. DeVoss, and F. J. Kelly, Educational 
Tests and Measurements, p. 288. Contains a concise account of 
various standardized tests and scales, including: arithmetic 
— Courtis, Cleveland Survey, Woody, Stone ; reading (silent 
and oral) — Thorndike, Haggarty, Starch ; handwriting — Free- 
man ; language — Hillegas, Harvard-Newton, Breed and Frostic, 
Willing; high-school subjects. 

A Brief Tabular History of the Movement toward Standardization 
by Means of Scales and Tests of Educational Achievement in the 
Elementary School Subjects appears in Educational Administration 
and Supervision, vol. 2, p. 483, in which thirty-two investigations 
are tabulated under the headings: name of investigator; subject 
investigated ; date of study ; general method employed ; results. 



278 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Examinations. Whatever is to be the develop- 
ment of standardized tests and measurements, it is 
probable that for a long time to come principals and 
teachers will make profitable use of the examination 
of the usual form, whether retaining the long and 
severe term or substituting the shorter and softer 
word test. In the discussion following, the words 
test and examination are used synonymously to 
include all kinds, oral and written, of formal investi- 
gation into the ability and achievement of pupils. 

The use of tests. Certain principles must be 
observed in using tests, or examinations. 

1. Tests must be regarded as a means to an end, 
and not be mistaken for the end itself. Like fire, the 
examination is a good servant but a bad master. 

2. Teachers and pupils must not work solely or 
even primarily for results on examinations, both 
because of the superficiality of the work thus en- 
couraged and because of the fret and worry that are 
produced in the minds of teacher and pupils. 

Daniel Starch, in Educational Measurements, reproduces several 
of the leading scales. 

A Bibliography of Educational Surveys and Tests appears in 
University^/ Virginia Record, Extension Series, vol. n, no. 3. 

New York City has adopted a Writing Scale devised by C. C. 
Lister and G. C. Myers. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 279 

3. Every test should be given with some definite 
aim or purpose in view, and this usually should be 
constructive in motive. 

4. As a logical consequence of its purposeful 
character, the results of a test should be analyzed 
and generalizations carefully drawn which may be 
applied in subsequent teaching. 

In order to make accurate analyses, the principal 
should understand the elements of statistical method. 1 
He should realize that in order to secure worth-while 
results from examinations, " conditions must be ' con- 
trolled ' by the investigator, measurements must be made 
as minutely as possible, records of results must be kept, 
and the data which have been collected must be syste- 
matically organized through the utilization of valid 
statistical methods. " 2 

Principals, and teachers also, should be familiar with 
the more common statistical terms. 3 

"If a number of similar objects are placed side by side 
in order of their size, they are said to be arrayed. . . . 

"If any group of objects is thus arrayed, the middle 
one is known as the median item. ... If there is an 

1 See Monroe, Educational Tests and Measurements, Chap. 
VIII, "Statistical Methods." Also King, Thorndike, Rugg, 
who are quoted in what follows. 

2 Harold O. Rugg, Statistical Methods Applied to Education, p. 3. 

3 The quotations which follow are from Willford I. King, The 
Elements of Statistical Method. 



280 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

even number of items the median item does not actually 
exist, but it is assumed to be located between the two 
middle items." — p. 127. 

The mode 1 . . . "is invariably denned as the most 
frequent size of item, the position of greatest density. . . ." 
— p. 12. 

The arithmetic average, 2 in distinction from the geo- 
metric average which is not in common use, "may be 
definitely located by a simple process of addition and 
division, and it is unnecessary to draw diagrams or ar- 
range the data in any set forms or series." — p. 136. 

"The sum of all the items in a group is known as the 
aggregate. The arithmetic average may be defined as 
the sum or aggregate of a series of items divided by their 
number." — p. 132. 

" A weighted average is one whose constituent items have 
been multiplied by certain weights before being added, 
the sum thus obtained being divided by the sum of the 
weights instead of by the number of items." — p. 136. 

1 "The mode is the type that to the ordinary mind seems best 
to represent the group. It is more intelligible to say that the 
modal wage of workingmen in a community is $2 per day than to 
say that the average wage is $2.17 when not a single man actually 
receives the latter amount." — p. 126. 

2 "The arithmetical average is often unwisely used as the sole 
measure of central tendency." — Thorndike, An Introduction to 
the Theory of Mental and Social Measurements, p. 37. 

"The median is more easily determined than the average. It 
is not so precise as the average, is very little influenced by extreme 
or erroneous measurements and is unambiguous." — King, p. 38. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 281 

The results of a test may be expressed in tabular form 
or in graphic representation. As a concrete example 
consider a test in spelling, consisting of twenty words, 
given to a class of forty-three pupils. A complete report 
gives the names of all pupils and opposite each his score, 
the number of words he spelled correctly. A tabulation 
would summarize the results thus : 





Number 




Number 


Score 


of Pupils 


Score 


of Pupils 


20 


5 


12 


3 


19 


3 


II 


1 


18 


4 


10 


2 


17 


2 


9 


1 


16 


7 


8 


1 


15 


6 


7 


1 


14 


3 






13 


4 


Total pupils 


43 



A glance at this tabulation shows a mode at score 16. 

The median score is the 2 2d of the 43 scores when they 
are arranged in order — 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 19, 19, 19, 18, 
18, 18, 18, etc., — which proves to be 15. There are 21 
scores at or above 15 and the same number, 21, at or 
below 15. 

The arithmetic average, for school use sufficiently de- 
scribed as the average, is found by multiplying each score 
by its respective number of pupils and dividing the sum 
of the products by 43. This proves to be 14.9. 

In this case the average and the median are nearly 
the same. There are many combinations which would 



282 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 



prove otherwise. The principal should discriminate be- 
tween the two and know the circumstances under which 
either is the fairer estimate of the work of the class and 
teacher. 

Results may be shown graphically by the use of qua- 
drille paper. 1 In the foregoing case, the distribution 
graph would be : 







































































































































— 6 




































































































































3 




































































































































■ 




















1 


D 








1 


5 








2 


D 



or, perhaps, better 




1 An extensive use may be made of graphs of various forms in 
many of the activities of the school. See Willard C. Brinton, 
Graphic Methods for Presenting Facts, particularly p. 82 for 
features of plotted curves; p. 360 for checking list for graphic 
presentations ; and p. 361 for rules for graphic presentation. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 283 

A progress graph is also of interest. Suppose the per- 
formance of this class on successive tests yielded aver- 
ages of 14.9, 15.7, 15.3, 15.6, 15.8, 15.5, 15.7, 14.8, 15.6, 
16.4, the graph would read : 



















































1 
























































































































































16 


























































































































































































































































lb 


































































































































































































































n n 


•fir 


•>fo> 


n £ 






Tff 


th 


it-i 




int 




)ct. 






i 1 


1 < 


) t 


I i 


1 L 


I t 


C 


1 C! 


j 






th 


? be 


se / 


me 


of 


•he 


sea 


>e. 


































1 




1 

















or, better, as a " curve " 

























































1 
































/ 
































/ 
















/ 


\ 




/ 


\ 


/ 


I 




/ 
















/ 


\ 


/ 




\ 




\ 


/ 


















/ 


» 


/ 








\ 


/ 


















/ 












\ 


/ 






























\ 


/ 














































































































































lot. 




i 




1 £ 


1 


) 1 


! 1 


i 1 


7 I 


) Z 











284 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

5. There should be a judicious distribution of 
oral and written tests. The written is so commonly 
the prevailing form that it is unnecessary here to 
argue for it. The oral test has certain advantages 
over the written test : for the teacher, it develops 
her skill in questioning, helps her in discovering 
pupils' ability in use of oral language, and relieves 
her of the task of marking papers ; for the pupil, 
it relieves him from constant use of the pen, and 
holds him at a keener point of attention. 

6. Tests should be varied in their character as 
to the kind of ability tested. Particularly should 
there be a due proportion of (a) habit tests, 
(b) memory tests, (c) judgment tests. 

Three kinds of tests. Exception might possibly 
be taken to this classification of tests, but as we 
are considering the matter from the administra- 
tion standpoint and aim at broad and practical 
distinction, no extended defense is offered. We 
distinguish primarily between the two functions 
of habit and judgment. 

(a) The habit test. Doing and Making are the 
two forms of " testable " habits. Reading — that 
is, learning to read, not reading to learn — is a 
habit yielding of itself no tangible product. It is 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 285 

true that in the course of acquiring it the pupil 
must have made many psychologic judgments ; but 
in testing a pupil's ability to read, we test something 
which, if it is not already a matter of habit, must 
become such before the pupil has command of this 
chief tool of his mental workshop. If he has to per- 
form a conscious judging anew at every word as he 
sees it on the printed page, he has not yet learned 
to read in any practical sense. Gymnastics and 
singing are other forms of the Doing habit. 

The testing of this class of habits presents certain 
difficulties arising from the fact that there is no 
permanent product. Two are obvious : much time 
is consumed in formally hearing each pupil read or 
sing a selection, or observing him go through a 
gymnastic exercise; and there is apt to be wide 
variation in the criteria employed by different 
teachers, and even by the same teacher at different 
times, in determining the " rating " of the pupil's 
work. On the other hand, there is an advantage 
in the teacher's being able to get, as it were, a view 
of the class as a whole, against which the short- 
comings of the individual stand out in relief. 

Writing (and written spelling), and the working 
elements of drawing, sewing, and constructive work, 



286 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

are habits of the Making order, yielding a tangible 
product which may be filed for future reference. 
As in the Doing habits, a simple form of judging is 
involved in their acquisition, but once acquired the 
resulting products come largely as a matter of habit 
— " largely," because it is clear that in the ad- 
vanced work of drawing and construction there is 
much " judgment " to be tested. But no pupil has 
learned to write or to draw who is obliged to consider, 
in a judging attitude, each letter of the alphabet 
as he forms it, or every stroke of his pencil as he 
makes a line. 

(b) The memory test. In addition to effecting 
the acquisition of habits, the educative process 
involves the exercise of judging and the storing up 
of judgments. As these two functions are distinct, 
the one dealing with process and the other with 
product, we test both memory, which concerns the 
product, and judgment, which concerns the process. 

Judgments are the results of the process of judging; 
and the process and the product must be sharply dis- 
tinguished. A judgment is a judgment, whoever may 
have performed the judging which produced it. You 
may judge and thus arrive at a judgment ; I may accept 
the judgment without any judging, For instance, I may 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 287 

be curious as to the name of the tree before me. I might 
go through the various stages of judging, consulting bo- 
tanical classifications, etc. ; instead, I ask you, for I 
know you have made many judgments of this sort. You 
tell me that it is an aspen. My curiosity is satisfied. I 
have acquired the judgment: This tree is an aspen. 
The only judging I have done has been incidental : I have 
correctly judged that I can accept your statement with 
confidence ; I may have erred in not realizing that had I 
done the judging myself I should probably retain the 
judgment longer than I shall by taking it ready-made — 
nevertheless, I have the judgment, and I got it without 
judging. 

It is necessary to note a further distinction. A 
judgment may be either a fact or a principle; a fact 
is the statement of a relation between particular units, a 
principle is the " statement of a relation that is constant 
in a number of separate facts"; 1 a fact is special, a 
principle is general. 

The act of judging, then, may be either the determining 
of a statement of fact 2 or the working over of facts until 
a common relation is discovered and expressed as a gen- 
eralization. For instance, to revert to the former illus- 
tration, having learned that this tree is an aspen, I am 

1 Bagley, Educative Process, p. 166. Also, "the terms 'gen- 
eralization/ 'law,' and 'principle' may be looked upon as 
synonymous." 

2 In which we may include for present purposes the application 
of generalizations to particulars, i.e. deduction. 



288 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

told that that other tree is an aspen, and a third, and a 
fourth, and so on, until I know a score of particular aspen 
trees. By careful observation I discover that all these 
have a common peculiarity in the shape of leaf and stem. 
From this I reach the generalization : Trees having round 
leaves and long stems flattened in planes perpendicular 
to each other are aspens. In this case I have done my 
own judging ; but you might, as before, have given me 
this judgment as the result of your own judging. I then 
would have been in possession of the same judgment, 
but would not have had the exercise in judging. Thus 
judging may be concerned with either generalized or par- 
ticularized judgments, with principles or with facts. 

In school work, the amount of judging which the pupil 
exercises in the acquisition of judgments depends largely 
upon the "method " of his teacher. She, with her techni- 
cal skill, will sometimes place before him ready-made 
judgments and force him to acquire them, and at other 
times compel him of his own effort to reach judgments 
for himself. In either case he learns a judgment: to 
recall the judgment at some future time is presumably l 
an act of memory; to arrive at a judgment de novo is 
an act of judging. The ability to perform each of these 
acts can be, and in the interest of good results should be, 
tested independently. 

1 "Presumably," because in a memory test a pupil might fail to 
remember a judgment and yet be able to recall it by repeating the 
process of judging by which originally he reached the judgment in 
question. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 289 

Testing Memory is to test the extent of the pupil's 
fund of judgments ; testing Judgment is to test his abil- 
ity to judge. Memory tests concern the products of judg- 
ing ; Judgment tests concern the processes of judging. J 

Of the several forms of activity which the child 
is in school to exercise, one of the simplest is the 
memorizing of facts and generalizations. This 
form lends itself most readily to a test of results. 
Has the pupil learned, with a sufficient degree of 
surety, the facts, isolated or related, which it is his 
business to have acquired? This is the easiest 
question to answer by test, and it is well to settle it 
before testing the ability to judge, which in many 
respects is of higher grade than the ability to 
memorize. 

It is sometimes urged in criticism that a test of 
this kind is necessarily partial because the exami- 
nation shows only whether the particular questions 
have been correctly answered. It does not indicate 
whether other questions equally important could 
be answered. Yet if the particular questions are 
carefully selected, the law of averages operates so 
that the percentage of correct answers to those 
questions sufficiently approximates the percentage 
of correct answers which would result were the 



290 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

pupils asked all the possible questions on the subject 
under review. 1 

The study of every subject in the curriculum 
involves, at some stage at least, the memorizing of 
certain facts or generalizations. It is quite true 

1 By way of experiment, spelling was selected as the subject 
which best lends itself to mathematical consideration, and a 
special exercise was taken in classes of the 5 B-8 A grades. In each 
case the teacher compiled a list of one hundred words of ordinary 
difficulty, the spelling of which, to the best of her knowledge, the 
pupils had not theretofore formally studied. She assigned ten of 
these hundred to the class for study on each of ten consecutive 
school days. At the beginning of the eleventh day, ten words — 
one from each block of ten — were given as a spelling test ; later 
in the morning another ten, similarly selected, were given ; and in 
the afternoon the entire hundred words were given. The results 
in average per cent correct were : 





First Ten 


Second Ten 


Average of 

First and 

Second Ten 


Entire 
Hundred 


5B 


98.O 


98.O 


98.O 


96.I 


6A 


85.O 


85.O 


85.O 


92.O 


6B 


95-2 


97-5 


96.4 


95-o 


7 A 


88.0 


94-7 


91.4 


92.0 


7B 


95.o 


95-o 


95-o 


96.0 


8A 


98.4 


97-5 


98.O 


97.6 



Allowing for the impossibility of securing exactly the same 
conditions for each of the three tests, the results on the selected 
groups and on the entire hundred are sufficiently in accord to 
justify the practice of using the former as a substitute and equiva- 
lent for the latter. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 291 

that in certain subjects, notably the sciences, most 
of the " judgments " will not be given outright to 
the pupils, but will be developed by them through 
the guiding genius of the teacher. But the fact 
that some judgments are the product of the pupil's 
own judging does not justify substituting the 
judging exercise for the pupil's mastery of the 
resulting judgments. The most skillful teaching 
can never relieve the pupil from the obligation of 
acquiring a fund of judgments to be drawn upon 
in the constant emergencies of life, most of which 
allow no time for the making of those judgments 
afresh. 

(c) The judgment test. We test the pupil in his 
ability to remember or to recall those judgments 
which have been previously presented or worked out. 
But we also may test his ability to exercise the judg- 
ing function, which we do by requiring him to make 
judgments de novo. Every subject, under good 
teaching, requires occasional, if not frequent, de- 
velopment of judgments by the pupils themselves. 
The necessity for testing this function and noting 
the advance of pupils therein is not, as a rule, ade- 
quately recognized. It is not to be accepted, it is 
true, as a substitute for either of the other two 



292 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

forms of test, but should be used particularly in 
grades above the third, regularly and with increasing 
frequency. 

The mere repetition of a judging exercise by the pupil, 
through memory alone, does not test his judgment. 
For example, he may have taken his part in the class in 
the development of the solution of a particular problem 
in mathematics. Later, in a test, given that same 
problem, he may respond creditably without in any 
measure indicating his ability to develop the situation, 
but merely his ability to remember the successive steps 
in the solution. 

Ordinarily, in arithmetic, the development of 
rules and the solution of problems ; in grammar, the 
development of rules of syntax and their applica- 
tion to new sentences; in the content subjects, 
the making of new inferences; are all judgment 
tests. The same lesson, or topic, or series of lessons 
usually permits of both memory and judgment test ; 
in such cases the result of each kind of test may be 
quite at variance both for individuals and for the 
class — which may or may not have significance. 

Memory and judgment test questions. The fol- 
lowing suggestive question papers are submitted to 
indicate the difference between a memory test and 
a judgment test, in each case upon the same lesson 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 293 

or series of lessons. It is hardly necessary to add 
that a single examination may, and usually should, 
include both kinds of questions. 

1. "The Courtship op Miles Standish." Grade 
Seven A 1 

(a) Memory 

(1) Who was Miles Standish? 

(2) Why had the Pilgrims come to this country? 

(3) In what relation did John Alden stand to Miles 
Standish ? 

(4) Whom did Miles Standish love? 

(5) Who else loved her? 

(6) What errand did Miles Standish ask John Alden 
to perform for him ? 

(7) Why did not Miles Standish do this errand him- 
self? 

(8) Why did John Alden go? 

(9) How did John Alden deliver his message ? 
(10) What did the lady say? 

(b) Judgment 

(1) In what way were St. Gregory and his monk, St. 
Augustine, like Miles Standish and John Alden ? 

(2) How could Miles Standish be a " shield" and a 
"weapon"? 

1 By Miss Gertrude A. Price, Public School 85, Brooklyn, New 
York. 



294 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

(3) What is the meaning of : 

" Turned o'er the well-worn leaves, where thumb marks 

thick on the margin, 
Like the trample of feet, proclaimed the battle was 

hottest"? 
If you have any books in this condition, name them and 
the parts answering to the above description. 

(4) How could Priscilla throw away John's heart? 

(5) Why should Priscilla mention the fact that reli- 
gion was dear to her ? 

(6) Why did not John Alden deliver his message at 
first in the beautiful language that Miles Standish ex- 
pected he would ? 

(7) Why did he talk so eloquently later on? 

(8) How can a pen give away a secret? 

(9) Why, do you think, did John Alden not suspect 
Miles Standish's love for Priscilla before he was asked to 
go on the errand ? 

(10) Why did Miles Standish talk so much about him- 
self as a soldier before asking John Alden to go to Pris- 
cilla ? 

2. United States History. Grade Eight 1 
(a) Memory 
Make ten historical sentences from the material 
presented below. The subject on the left must agree 
historically with the predicate on the right. 

1 By Mr. Walter Gidinghagen, principal, Humboldt School, 
Kansas City, Mo. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 



295 



1. Missouri appeared in 1829. 

2. Louisiana proposed the Kansas- 

Nebraska Bill. 

was admitted as a state in 
1821. 

was purchased from 

France for $15,000,000. 
was annexed to the United 

States in 1845. 
William Lloyd Garrison said, "A house divided 

against itself cannot 

stand." 
originated in Jackson's 

time, 
was proclaimed in 1823. 
was settled in 1846. 
established the Liberator 

in Boston. 



3. The Monroe Doctrine 

4. The " Spoils System" 

5. The first railroad 
6 



7. Texas 

8. The Oregon boundary 

9. Stephen A. Douglas 
10. Lincoln 



(b) Judgment 

1 . Why was the construction of the Erie Canal of great 
importance ? 

2. Give two arguments against slavery. 

3. On what did the United States base its claim to 
Oregon? 

4. Was the United States justified in going to war with 
Mexico? Give reasons. 

5. Show that the reaper did as much to develop the 
West as the cotton gin did to develop the South. 



296 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

3. United States History. Grade Eight 1 
(a) Memory 

1. Give date of the beginning of the Civil War. State 
how many years it continued. 

2. When did the present World War begin? 
When did the United States enter it ? 

3. Write 5 lines of Gettysburg Address. 

4. Name an important battle of each year of Civil War. 

5. What did the Civil War cost the country? 
Compare with present war. 

6. Draw a map to illustrate the 3 objective points of 
the war. 

7. When and where was the first shedding of blood in 
the Civil War? 

8. What were the provisions of the Emancipation 
Proclamation ? 

9. How was the cost of the Civil War met? 

How are we meeting the cost of the present war ? 

(b) Judgment 

1. How and why did the North have the advantage 
on the ocean in the Civil War? 

2 . How did the Appalachian Mountains affect the war ? 

3. In what ways were rivers harmful to the South? 

4. How did a blockade affect the South ? 

How would a blockade affect us in the present war? 

1 By Miss Margaret Strahan, principal, Lexington School, 
Grand Rapids, Mich. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 297 

5. Why did Sherman devastate the Shenandoah 
Valley ? Of what advantage were the railroad and tele- 
graph to Sherman ? 

6. In what ways was McClellan a great leader ? 
Why was he then not successful? 

7. What was Grant's strongest characteristic as a 
general? Give proofs. 

8. Write an article for a paper that an anti-slavery 
man of the North might have written after the Emanci- 
pation Proclamation, also one that a slave owner might 
have written. 

4. Geography. Grade Eight A 1 

(a) Memory 

(1) Describe Africa as to its location in zones, the 
character of its coast line, the location and extent of its 
mountain ranges, and the chief characteristics of its river 
systems. 

(2) Describe the feeding of the Nile, the character of 
its upper and lower courses, and name three kinds of 
ruins peculiar to the section. 

(3) Name the four largest lakes of Africa. Describe 
their general size, source of water supply, and use to 
commerce. 

(4) Name two animal products and two mineral prod- 
ucts in the output of which Africa excels the world. 

1 By Miss Mabel F. Jones, assistant to principal, Public School 
2, Brooklyn, N. Y. 



298 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

(5) What effect have the trade winds on northern 
Africa ? Account for the Desert of Kalahari. Why does 
the northern slope of the Atlas Mountains get plentiful 
rainfall ? 

(6) What is the common peculiarity of the ownership 
of the African countries? What has England done for 
Egypt? 

(7) How does Africa rank among the continents in 
development of resources, commerce, progress? What 
section has least chance for advancement? In what 
sections is there most progress ? 

(8) Locate three of these cities : Johannesburg, Cape 
Town, Alexandria, Cairo, Khartoum. Tell for what each 
of the other two is noted. 

(b) Judgment 

(1) Give several reasons why Africa has been explored 
and settled so much later than either North or South 
America. 

(2) "The Nile River, after flowing through thousands 
of miles of desert region, makes Upper Egypt one of the 
most fertile sections of the world. " Explain how this is 
possible. What section of Africa would you prefer to 
visit, and why? 

(3) Victoria Nyanza and Lake Superior are of about 
the same size. Give some reasons why one is of greater 
commercial importance than the other. 

(4) How do you think the price of diamonds is affected 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 299 

by South Africa's control of ninety per cent of the world's 
output of diamonds ? Why ? 

(5) Why is not a large part of northern South America 
a desert like northern Africa ? If the mountains of South 
Africa lay in the direction of the Atlas Mountains, what 
difference, if any, would it make in the climate of South 
Africa? Give your reasons for your preference, if you 
were to choose between the two slopes of the Atlas Moun- 
tains for a home. 

(6) Give two possible interpretations of Stanley's title, 
" In Darkest Africa." Examine a map of Africa for the 
location of the principal railroads. Account for their 
distribution. 

(7) Explain why the number of large cities in Africa 
should differ from that of Europe. Give three reasons, 
from its location, for the development of Alexandria into 
a city of importance. 

Use of tests by teachers. The principal must 
supervise the use of tests by teachers, who must 
realize their true value for herself and for her 
pupils. 

(a) For the teacher. 

(1) The test gives the teacher an important 
measure of the response of individual pupils to the 
requirements of the school, one which is somewhat 
more tangible and exact than the pupils' day-by-day 
activity. 



300 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

(2) The test may serve as a factor in helping the 
teacher to rate pupils accurately, though it will be 
but one of several factors. (See rating of pupils, 

P. 253-) 

(3) Perhaps the chief value of the test is that it 
shows the teacher the quality of her own teaching. 
It may indicate her own successes and her own 
failures. The wise teacher will not always charge 
up against her pupils their poor showing on a test, 
but will frequently review her own method, ques- 
tioning whether it is not that which may be held 
responsible for the delinquencies of the pupils. 

(4) By a careful study of the results of tests, the 
teacher is guided in her subsequent teaching, both 
as regards quality and as to details in respect to 
quantity. 

(b) For the pupil. 

(5) Tests have a disciplinary value in showing 
pupils exactly what they know and what they do not 
know, and in forcing upon them the idea that they 
have a responsibility for results and are to be held 
to account. 

(6) A simple test may be used occasionally to 
encourage pupils who are disheartened over difficult 
work, showing them that they have already ac- 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 301 

complished something and may be expected to 
accomplish yet more. 

(7) Tests help to fasten important topics in 
mind. The emphasis placed upon a topic when it 
is made the subject of a test-question usually makes 
a lasting impression upon the pupil's mind whether 
he answered the particular question successfully or 
not. 

(8) Tests may be made a means of valuable train- 
ing along lines outside the subject matter of the test. 

(a) To analyze the meaning of an examination 
question and to state clearly the answer thereto is 
an excellent language drill. Indeed, much of the 
difficulty pupils have in solving problems in mathe- 
matics, for instance, arises from failure to under- 
stand the question — lack of ability to interpret the 
English language. 

(b) A written examination demands from the 
pupil careful though incidental attention to matters 
of penmanship, arrangement, form, etc. 

(c) A written examination in which all the ques- 
tions are placed before the pupil at once calls for 
the exercise of judgment on his part in apportioning 
time to questions and determining the extent to 
which each question should be answered. 



302 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

(d) A written examination in which the questions 
are placed before the pupil one at a time, and he is 
required to answer one question before going on to 
the next, calls for concentration of thought and 
effort under conscious limitation of time. 

(e) Pupils, by reading and rating their own or 
one another's answer papers, as they should occa- 
sionally, get valuable training in judgment and in 
the finer qualities of courtesy and tact. 

Use of tests by principal. In making use of the 
test himself 1 the principal may have at least three 
different purposes : 

(i) To test the teaching. When this is the aim, 
he must be sure that his test is a " fair " one. His 
right to give an examination at any time to any 
class on any subject is not to be questioned, but if 
he is to use the results in his estimate of a teacher's 
ability he must limit his questions to those which 
cover the ground taught by the teacher in the given 
period. 

1 "In the making and using of educational measurements four 
steps may be recognized. First, giving the tests ; second, tabulat- 
ing the scores and calculating the central tendencies, variabilities, 
etc. ; third, interpreting the scores ; fourth, modifying instruction 
to meet the needs revealed. The supervisor can render valuable 
service in each of these steps." — Monroe, Educational Tests and 
Measurements, p. 285. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 303 

For instance, the principal might give an examination 
in trigonometry to a fifth-year class. He might have 
good pedagogic or administrative reasons for doing this ; 
and so long as he merely gave the examination and of- 
fered no criticism of the teacher because her pupils did 
not "pass" it, she would have no cause for complaint, 
although no doubt she would appreciate it if the principal 
explained what his purpose was. On the other hand, if the 
principal, on account of the results of such an examina- 
tion, charged the teacher with doing poor work, she 
would certainly have cause to protest. When the prin- 
cipal is examining in order to test the teacher it should be 
understood that such is his purpose; and his teachers 
should be trained to point out to him any unfairness on 
this basis, of the questions he asks. 

(2) To " take stock" This at times is as impor- 
tant for the school administrator as for the mer- 
chant. A good way to ascertain the relative condi- 
tion of the classes from grade to grade is to give 
simple tests in the various subjects, using the same 
questions in all grades throughout three or four 
years of the course. The tabulated results by 
grades and by classes then show with fair accuracy 
the location of weak spots, and consequently the 
places at which the maximum of corrective teaching 
and managing must be applied. 



304 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Results of tests in each class may be entered on blank 
forms, such as the following : 

Test in - 

Date 19 Class 

Number of Pupils in Attendance 



Question Number 


Pupils Correct 


% of Pupils Correct 


1 
2 

3 

4 
etc. 






Total : 







Teacher 
The results for groups of classes can then be tabulated 
thus: 













% CORRECT 












Class 


1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


Total 


8BB 
8BG 
8AB 
8AM 

etc. 





























(3) To settle appeals at promotion. The principal 
should have documentary support for his final deci- 
sion as to the promotion or non-promotion of a 
pupil, even though the examination may not have 
been the controlling or even the chief factor in 
determining his decision. 



THE PUPILS' SCHOLASTIC PROGRESS 305 

Additional principles. A few additional prin- 
ciples applicable to examinations, whatever their 
purpose, are noted : 

1. Questions should be stated as clearly and as 
briefly as the subject permits. 

2. The form of questions should be varied from 
time to time. Avoid stereotyped forms, to meet 
which teachers and pupils waste time and effort. 

3. An examination may consist of optional ques- 
tions, optional either by choice of the teacher or of 
the pupils. If a teacher is given her choice of, say, 
ten questions out of fourteen, her objections that 
some questions are out of grade or otherwise un- 
suitable are anticipated and forestalled. 

4. A question paper should be so worded as to 
permit of easy reading of the answers thereto. A 
set of questions may be so loosely arranged and so 
vaguely expressed as to necessitate an inordinate 
amount of labor by the teacher in reading the answer 
papers ; by the exercise of a few minutes' care the 
same questions can be organized into such form as 
will save the teacher a large percentage of her time 
and energy. 

5. Examinations should frequently if not usually 
come unheralded. 



306 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

6. Extreme care should be exercised in drawing 
conclusions from the results of any given examina- 
tion or set of tests. Hasty generalization may work 
injustice to some teacher or class of pupils; all 
factors that enter into the results in any case should 
be diligently sought after and accurately taken 
into account. For example, one class may have a 
disproportionate number of pupils handicapped by 
illness, over-age, home conditions, recent transfer 
from another school, prolonged absence, physical 
or mental defect, or ignorance of English. 

Summary. The principal is responsible for the 
scholastic progress of his pupils. He must so grade 
them as to insure each pupiPs receiving a maximum 
of possible service from the school. He must de- 
termine the forms of organization best adapted to 
local conditions, selecting appropriate methods of 
grouping pupils and deciding the degree to which 
departmental organization should be employed. He 
must secure equitable rating of pupils by teachers 
and must systematize promotions so that the truest 
interests of pupils are conserved. He must direct 
and inspire classroom teaching so that it may attain 
a high degree of efficiency. He must use measure- 
ments of accomplishment judiciously and super- 
vise their use by teachers. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PUPILS' MORAL 
DEVELOPMENT 

" Discipline " a problem. The problem of " dis- 
cipline," * the term used to encompass the whole 
range of the pupils' moral development, scholasti- 
cally considered, is probably the most perplexing 
that confronts the principal. In his successful 
experience as a class teacher, which it is here as- 
sumed the principal has had, he has learned that 
" discipline " cannot be detached from the general 
current of activity and made a particular feature, 
and he has learned and applied the other important 
principles underlying the proper government of a 
class. But as principal he is in command in a 
broader field, and he finds among his lieutenants 
a large proportion who are untrained in practical 
class management. The principal must secure, in 
each class, a rational system of class government 
and, throughout the school as a whole, a unified 

1 For a more extended discussion see author's Discipline as a 
School Problem. 

307 



308 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

system of school government. This government he 
must develop and maintain in spite of the fact that 
several of his teachers are in that stage of their 
experience when their presence retards rather than 
strengthens the fulfillment of his plans. 

An ever-present problem. Discipline, moreover, 
is a natural, to-be-expected, and ever-present school 
problem. The discipline of a school should, under 
ordinary conditions, improve from year to year; 
but as the work of the school means a continuous 
process of admitting to the school register hundreds 
of pupils in their infancy and discharging them in 
their youth, just so will the problem of discipline be 
a continuous one. The corollary to this proposi- 
tion is : Be not discouraged. The principal, after 
five years in a school, finding that he is expending 
time and energy on the same old disciplinary prob- 
lems, is prone to feel disheartened; but he must 
not forget that while the problems are much the 
same, the personnel of the subjects is different — 
he is treating a new generation of pupils. His 
methods of treatment, it is to be hoped, are con- 
stantly improving; but he is dealing all the while 
with the same human factors, the same child nature. 

In meeting this problem, as all others, in fact, 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 309 

the principal must both have in mind a body of 
general principles and express those principles in 
specific methods. In a practical discussion of 
school discipline it is difficult to set principles off 
to one side and applications to the other. The dis- 
tinction serves, however, and we shall discuss the 
whole topic under (A) general principles and (B) 
specific methods. 

A. General principles. Before the principal can 
successfully administer his school as to its disci- 
plinary details he must establish certain principles 
in his own mind and in the minds of his teachers. 
His relation to his school, in every phase, is both 
pedagogic and legal. He will carry this distinction 
throughout his handling of the discipline problem. 
He must follow a rational pedagogy as to moral 
development and he must exercise the authority 
vested in him by law. 

A philosophy of moral development. The prin- 
cipal must have some philosophy of moral develop- 
ment. It may be a borrowed philosophy or it may 
be the outgrowth of his own thinking based on his 
reading and experience. Whatever its source he 
must have some well-grounded collection of funda- 
mental principles to guide him in his treatment of 



310 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

the general problem and to serve as the background 
against which he will set each individual " case " 
of discipline as it comes before him. 

The following philosophy of discipline is briefly set 
forth, merely by way of suggestion, and without claim 
that it is novel, complete, or final. 

" Discipline " of a class or other group of pupils is equal 
to the sum of the " disciplines " of the individual pupils. 1 
If every pupil were properly and completely disciplined, 
the school would be in perfect discipline. For the indi- 
vidual, discipline is not merely a school problem ; it is a 
life problem. Indeed, the content of the word might be 
extended to indicate the end and aim of all education. 

All sciences are interdependent. Pedagogy as a 
science is chiefly dependent upon the sciences of sociology, 
biology, and psychology ; others, of course, make material 
contributions. The most significant generalization com- 
mon to these three sciences is the doctrine of evolution : 

i. In sociology. Civilization (the present state of 
discipline of society) came late in the historic view of the 
human race. Even within the period of civilization, we 
see that Despotism gives place slowly to Democracy; 
government from without gives place slowly to gov- 
ernment from within. The school — the class — is a 
society ; and the growth in the character of the discipline 
of a school group is a matter of time. The class, as One 

1 Except as the class introduces certain new factors in mass 
psychology and mass control. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 311 

A, corresponds to the infancy of the civilized race, and is 
governed largely by absolutism ; the same class, become 
Eight B, corresponds to the maturity of the race, and 
should be governed as a democracy. There is danger 
in giving a society in its infancy self-government for 
which it has not developed capacity ; there is equal dan- 
ger in restraining a society by absolutism when it has 
reached a maturity that qualities it for democracy. 
Likewise it is dangerous to force self-government upon 
a One A class and equally dangerous to withhold it from 
an Eight B class. 

2. In biology, ilgain, in the development of the in- 
dividual the law of evolution applies. In the physical 
life of the individual, at least during his school career, the 
most important stage is adolescence. In the elementary 
schools we deal with pupils on both sides of the crisis of 
adolescence, and throughout a considerable part of the 
period. In school administration we must give due con- 
sideration to this fact. 

3. In psychology. Again, evolution. Here we see 
adolescence as a mental phase, characterized by the 
efflorescence of activities previously dormant, as, for 
example, the religious sentiment. By a very rough 
classification it may be said that we deal with pupils in 
school grades 1-3, in their infancy ; in 4-6, in preadoles- 
cence ; in 7-8, in adolescence. Of the three stages the 
second is the most difficult to treat. The infant is an 
infant and is to be treated as such ; as a youth he is to be 
treated as a youth ; but at the critical stage of preadoles- 



312 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

cence, he himself knows not whether he is child or 
youth, feels, but cannot analyze, the inward strife be- 
tween the two conditions, and taxes the skill of the most 
experienced of teachers. 

Whatever the other sciences involved, discipline is 
essentially a concern of psychology. Let us look into it 
from this viewpoint. 

Reduced to its lowest terms, discipline, in its popular 
school sense, means that process which leads the individ- 
ual to do the right thing. Psychologically, discipline is 
a threefold matter of intellect, of feeling, and of will. 
(I am not unmindful that psychology has long since 
dropped the use of these terms to indicate distinct facul- 
ties of the mind ; but the words may be retained as a con- 
venient terminology to apply to the most notable phases 
of consciousness . ) Formal education has quite uniformly 
overtrained, and is yet overtraining, intellect. But we 
should train the whole mind, not merely one of its phases, 
intellect. 

We do right only when three conditions are satisfied : 
(i) we know what the particular right is; (2) we feel 
that we ought to do the right in any case ; and (3) we will 
to do the particular right. No two of these phases will 
suffice : (1) one may have a fanatic fervor for right 
doing and an iron will, but if he cannot decide the purely 
intellectual question as to what the right is in the particu- 
lar case, he will- fail to do the right in that case ; (2) one 
may know clearly what the right in a particular matter is, 
have the will to do anything he sets out to do and yet 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 313 

lack the feeling, the compelling motive, as, for instance, 
the sense of duty, and thus fail to do the right in the par- 
ticular case ; or (3) one may both know clearly and feel 
fervently as to a particular right conduct, and yet lack 
the necessary will-power and again fail to do the partic- 
ular right. 

How shall we train intellect, feeling, will? We have 
pretty thoroughly learned the method of intellect train- 
ing. "Exercise strengthens faculty" is still the old 
reliable rule. It is the law of training of all kinds. We 
have long recognized the necessity of drill of intellect; 
we train memory by memorizing ; we train judgment by 
judging ; we train reason by reasoning, etc. 1 The same 
principle must be applied to feeling and will. Modern 
pedagogy, it is true, has developed many corollaries to 
this fundamental law of drill, but it is doubtful if there is 
any successful " method " which does not stand upon this 
foundation principle. How then shall we train for dis- 
cipline ? 

1. Train intellect. The child must know what is the 
right thing. Be sure that he does know before you ex- 
pect him to act. Many "cases" of discipline originate 
in innocent ignorance on the part of the pupil as to what 
is the right in a particular situation. The teacher, as 
the instructor of her pupils in what constitutes the right, 

1 These statements may be taken in a large or in a limited 
sense, according to whether one believes or disbelieves in the* 
possibility of "generalized" habits. In either case the funda- 
mental principle holds. • 



314 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

has a heavy responsibility. She must distinguish be- 
tween " conventions " and "laws of right." She must be 
sure, especially in the higher grades, that she is not over- 
emphasizing mere school conventions and leading pupils 
to a belief that they are more important than the vital 
forms of righteousness. She must have a correct, or at 
least a sane, definition of "order," remembering that 
order, after all, is but a means, not an end, though some- 
where along the line it may rightly enough be made an 
end as a necessity in training. "Whispering," for 
example, as Dean Balliet aptly puts it, "is not a disease, 
but a symptom." 

But the knowledge of right and wrong is a growth. In 
infancy the child knows what is right only so far as he is 
told that it is right. He may often appear to know the 
right when the truth is that he merely has had no 
experience with the wrong. The teacher will not de- 
mand from pupils compliance with, false conventions, yet 
in dealing with pupils in the infancy stage she will not 
attempt to have them distinguish between conventions 
and moral laws. The child must be taught with equal 
insistence that he must not steal and that he must not 
put his knife into his mouth at meals ; for, while one is a 
matter of morals and the other is a matter of manners, 
it would be a violation of good pedagogy to emphasize 
this distinction with him, or to get into any discussion 
concerning the " Tightness" of the acts. Broadly con- 
sidered, to steal, to lie, to kill, may be justifiable, that is, 
under certain circumstances, right ; at any rate, adults 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 315 

may with comparative safety discuss the question as to 
whether or not they are ever right. The child must be 
taught emphatically, unequivocally, that these things 
are wrong — they are wrong because you tell him so. 
In due time he will reach adolescence and maturity, gain 
his intellectual freedom, and take his turn at arguing 
metaphysical questions. 1 

Through all the subjects of the curriculum the pupil 
may be led to see what is and has been for ages considered 
right in the various and detailed relationships of life. In 
The Moral Instruction of Children, Dr. Adler shows 2 
how the teaching of science, history, literature, etc., can 
develop the knowledge of right. As the pupil matures 
he may be taught to reason concerning the wisdom of 
these rights. Probably no better rule can be given him 
than the time-hallowed golden rule of considering the 
"other fellow." 

2. Train feeling. The ultimate aim is the attainment 
of the sentiment of Duty, the sense of Right for Right's 
sake ; but this condition is the climax reached only after 
years of development. This sense of duty is derived 
slowly through the years from infancy to adolescence, 
from the lowest motives through an ascending series 
of feelings. Fear, respect, love, ambition, are some 

1 "The first thing the child has to learn about this matter is, 
that lying is unprofitable, — afterwards that it is against the peace 
and dignity of the universe." — Oliver Wendell Holmes, The- 
Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, p. 117. 

2 P. 27, et seq. 



316 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

of the milestones on the road to the terminal Sense 
of Duty. 

The fundamental proposition is that the child must 
do right. It is only by doing right that he learns to do 
right. If the child of four were able to do right through 
a dependable and sustained sense of duty, then the appeal 
should be made to that motive. Actually he has no 
such lofty sentiment, consequently he must be brought 
to do the right because of some feeling lower in the scale 
— he must do right. If fear is the only motive that 
reaches him then fear must operate ; soon, through con- 
stant practice in doing right, fear will yield to something 
higher, love perhaps, or ambition, and thus in time there 
will be a growth to the climax. 

There are many opportunities in the classroom for 
training feeling. As in the case of intellect, it may be 
trained without passing from the feeling phase to the 
willing; that is, without the particular act of doing 
always following the exercise in knowing and feeling. 
In training the child the teacher must constantly and 
consistently emphasize the crime, and not the criminal. 
It is not that the murderer is a bad man, but that he com- 
mitted a bad deed. It is not that John is a bad boy, but 
that he did a wrong thing. We hate the wrong, but we 
love the child. Many a teacher forgets this principle 
and treats the misdeeds of pupils as affronts directed 
against her personally. The pupil's offenses are to be 
regarded, not as offenses against the teacher, but as 
offenses against himself or against law and society. The 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 317 

pupil, it is true, may have the personal feeling of antag- 
onism against the teacher, but by the time adolescence 
approaches, he should have outgrown the habit as the 
result of consistent training in which his teachers have 
refused to accept his misdemeanors in this spirit and 
have uniformly treated his offenses impersonally. 
Moreover, when the teacher takes the personal attitude 
of having been affronted by the pupil's misdemeanor, 
it enhances the notoriety which the pupil has thus cheaply 
acquired and which he, and some of his classmates, mis- 
take for fame. 

3. Train will. This "I will do right" is also a matter 
of growth and can be developed through drill. There 
are many more classroom opportunities to train will 
than the average teacher appreciates. Before the pupil 
can be expected to exercise even a little self-control in 
big things, he must first be taught to exercise large 
control in little things. His will must first be taught 
to function in the less important matters. Most 
teachers delay disciplining the pupil's will until some 
crisis is reached which they cannot afford to disregard. 
If the pupil were trained to meet minor matters of grad- 
ually increasing strain upon his will power, he would reach 
the major stresses with a will prepared to meet them. 

To summarize: Discipline is a matter of growth; we 
must not expect too much too soon ; we must sympathize 
with failure, for failure has been a not uncommon ex- 
perience with us ; we must respect physical and psycho- 
logical changes from infancy to adolescence ; we must 



318 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

train for discipline — train intellect so that it shall know 
the right, train feeling so that it shall come instinctively 
to prefer right to wrong, and train will so that it shall, 
by force of habit, act promptly in accordance with the 
dictates of trained intellect and feeling. 

Whatever the detail of his philosophy, the principal will 
undoubtedly accede to the proposition that discipline 
should be a matter of growth from implicit to rational 
obedience. 

Principal's legal authority. Every pupil in the 
school must feel the ultimate authority of the prin- 
cipal as the administrator of the law. This does 
not mean that the principal flaunts his authority 
or even refers to it. But the principal's personality 
is one of the most potent factors of moral influence 
in the school, hence his influence for right and 
against wrong must be quiet, unobtrusive, but sure. 
Teachers will maintain such a standard of dis- 
cipline as they are sustained in enforcing, or which 
they are required to enforce. Teachers and pupils 
must both, therefore, feel that the principal stands 
ready fearlessly, whenever occasion arises, to exer- 
cise his legal authority to the limit, whether that 
limit be corporal punishment, suspension, or 
expulsion. 

The sensing by the pupils that legal authority is 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 319 

vested in the school must be extended from the 
principal to every teacher in the building. Pupils 
must feel that they are at all times responsible to 
any and every teacher in the school. 1 A pupil of a 
higher grade, for example, who shows any dis- 
respect to a teacher of some other, and probably of 
a lower, grade, should, as a matter of logical con- 
sequence, be temporarily transferred to the room 
of that teacher until she is convinced that he is 
ready to act with proper respect and obedience. 

The constant deference on the part of the prin- 
cipal to the administrative headship of the teacher, 
previously referred to (p. 102), is of immense value 
in impressing upon pupils the fact that the teacher, 
as well as the principal, is the embodiment of legal 
authority. 

B. Specific methods. With general principles to 
guide him, the principal will attend to the more 
specific methods of discipline involved in school 
management. There are two chief personal dis- 

1 "Teachers shall hold pupils to a strict accountability for any- 
disorderly conduct on their way to or from school, or on the school 
premises." — San Francisco, 112. 

"Every teacher is hereby especially empowered and enjoined 
to command order on or about the school premises, on the part of 
every pupil connected with the public schools." — 58. 



320 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

ciplinary forces in the school, (i) the teachers and 
(2) the principal. 

1. Teachers as disciplinarians. As the principal 
must work through the agency of his teachers, he 
must train them to become good disciplinarians, in 
the proper sense of the term. The new teacher, 
generally, needs more encouragement and attention 
and more detailed instructions than does the expe- 
rienced teacher, and in no respect more than in the 
matter of discipline. The teacher must (a) be led 
to see how important a factor is her own personality ; 
then she must (b) be given certain specific cautions 
embodying the usual maxims ; and she must (c) be 
given specific aids in discipline. 

a. The teacher's personality. The teacher must 
remember that " the very atmosphere of the class- 
room should be such as to encourage moral refine- 
ment ; it should possess a sunny climate, so to 
speak, in which meanness and vulgarity cannot 
live." 1 This atmosphere is primarily a matter of 
the teacher herself, for the class reflects the teacher. 2 

1 Felix Adler, The Moral Instruction of Children. 

2 "The first duty of the teacher is to expand and enlarge his 
own limited personality so as to take in and appreciate the rich 
variety of character with which the boys and girls surround him." 
— Charles A. McMurry, Conflicting Principles in Teaching, p. 34. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 321 

Hence she must cultivate those personal qualities 
that are necessary in order to insure decorum 
and right behavior on the part of her pupils. The 
most valuable of those personal qualities are : 

(1) A calm and quiet manner. Quiet begets 
quiet. The teacher's self-control impresses pupils 
with the feeling that the teacher has inexhaustible 
reserves which it would be useless for them even to 
attempt to fathom. 

(2) Firmness and decision. These attributes are 
in no way inconsistent with kindness and kindliness. 
Pupils respect the firm hand and the decisive will. 

(3) Industry and energy. The spirit of work is 
contagious. The working teacher has working 
pupils. 

(4) Cheerfulness. Work is not invariably related 
to solemnity. 1 A cheerful spirit induces productive 

1 "Many teachers overdo the serious attitude. They are too 
constantly strenuous. The face, the manner, and the inner spirit 
acquire a fixity that is too hard and unyielding. The teacher 
needs above all things a mobility and flexibility of spirit that 
fits easily into a great variety of moods." — McMurry, Conflicting 
Principles in Teaching, p. 220. Also, "Humor is a solvent of stiff 
mannerism. It takes the rigidity and cramp out of one's mental 
habits. It releases the strain and gets the children back into a 
wholesome attitude in readiness for a new and stronger effort. 
Humor is the natural antidote to austerity and harshness." — p. 221. 



322 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

work where a " soured " disposition can at best get 
only time service. 

(5) Sympathy. By this is meant the deep, true 
sympathy with boy-nature and girl-nature; no 
" mollycoddling," but a sincere desire to visualize 
the pupirs viewpoint, to appreciate his problems, 
to get into his life, and to help him to help himself. 

(6) Vigilance. Alertness of eye and ear, and 
trained perceptions permit little that occurs in the 
class to escape notice. On the other hand, judgment 
must be exercised as to what to recognize and refer 
to on the moment, and what to stow away in mem- 
ory to be drawn upon later if needed. 

(7) Fairness and justness. Pupils forgive almost 
anything else in a teacher but unfairness or partiality. 

(8) Order, system, and neatness. These virtues 
in the teacher reflect themselves in corresponding 
virtues in the pupils. 

(9) Scholarship. This alone will not discipline 
a class, but the teacher who has it may with it com- 
mand the respect of her pupils, and this respect is 
the best foundation upon which to rear the super- 
structure of class control. 

b. Specific cautions. The inexperienced teacher, 
particularly, needs help in details of class control. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 323 

She frequently understands the maxims of good 
management better when they are presented as 
" Don'ts " than when in positive form. Teachers 
must be warned against 

(1) Neglecting physical condition. The teacher 
must appreciate the value in successful class man- 
agement of normal physical environment for the 
pupils. She must secure proper conditions : as to 
the room, its lighting, equipment, and adjustment; 
as to the air, its temperature and circulation ; and 
as to the program, its results upon the pupils as 
to fatigue and relaxation. 

(2) Not preparing work. The teacher must 
thoroughly prepare her work. Good, honest en- 
deavor gained from pupils by well-prepared teaching 
is a certain preventive of disorder. In every form 
of class exercise, the more skillful the method em- 
ployed by the teacher, the less opportunity is there 
for the pupils to develop habits of misconduct. 1 

1 Dr. Frederic L. Luqueer, principal of a Brooklyn school, 
frequently circularizes his teachers by means of printed cards. 
One of these reads : 

Glenwood Road School 

Why not begin a card catalog? Questions, hints, methods, 
lesson-plans, inspirations, — all are readily filed and found. The 
unused may be discarded. Growth is invited; the intellectual 
house put in order. F. L. L. 



324 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

(3) Not working pupils enough. It is far more 
difficult to do nothing than to do something; par- 
ticularly is it more difficult to make pupils do nothing 
than to make them do a specific something. 

(4) Not maintaining good order at the start. 
The teacher passes over the early infractions with 
the thought, if she thinks about it at all, that she 
will discipline when there is something more serious 
to consider. 

Every teacher must understand what " order" is. 
She must have a definite concept of the term, as broad 
as circumstances permit, and then she must demand and 
get that kind of order. We hear much of secondary 
motives; and prizes, 1 marks, merits, and the like are 
condemned wholesale. There is danger in following this 
line of theory too far. The motives of highly-trained 
adults frequently, on close analysis, prove to be sub- 
ject to the influence of more or less artificial rewards. 
There is, after all, no intrinsically " secondary" motive; 
motive is secondary only in relation to some primary 
motive which for the moment may be regarded as. loftier 
and less egoistic. For one person under a certain con- 
dition that motive may be basely secondary which for 

1 Syracuse provides: "No teacher or other person shall be 
allowed to present in the public schools, any prize, premium or 
gift to any pupil, except such as are permitted by order of the 
board of education. . . ." — 44. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 325 

another person might be relatively high and primary. 
In managing a class the teacher must remember that 
order must be maintained. If it can be secured by 
appeal to high motives, then those are the motives to 
use; but if these motives do not reach the class, the 
teacher must promptly use motives progressively less 
high until she comes upon one that does reach. She 
must have order. From this level she may then begin to 
work up through the scale, carrying the class to higher 
and higher ideals. 1 

(5) Not having a carefully planned system for 
the changing of activities. Good teaching method 

1 "There are at least four fundamental principles necessary to 
good discipline : (1) it must harmonize with social ideals outside 
the schoolroom; (2) it must be positive and constructive rather 
than negative and restrictive ; (3) it must be indirect rather than 
direct in method ; and (4) it must be administered on the highest 
plane which the pupils can understand." — p. 246. 

"The final principle of good discipline is that it should be ad- 
ministered on as high a plane as the pupils are able to respond to. 
This requires a clear understanding on the part of the teacher of 
the planes or levels of human control. These planes are deter- 
mined both by the means used to secure control and the motives 
appealed to in the governed. There is a steadily rising series of 
these methods and motives, but for clearness' sake they may be 
reduced to three — the plane of force, the plane of personal 
domination, and the plane of social pressure. The discipline on 
these levels may successively be called the military, the personal, 
and the social." — p. 250, Walter R. Smith, An Introduction to 
Educational Sociology. 



326 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

carries the class along safely during the lessons, but 
the " between times " are bothersome. The teacher 
must learn both to merge one exercise into another 
so that there are few " breaks/' and also to plan the 
inevitable breaks, e.g. the distribution of materials, 
the changing of seats, the dismissals, etc., so that 
they may be executed without confusion. 

(6) Giving unnecessary directions and commands. 
It is far better to give one carefully thought out, 
rational order and see that it is obeyed by all, than 
to give half a dozen different and probably conflicting 
directions in the same time. 

(7) Threatening. The quiet teacher who gives 
orders and tacitly but clearly expects them to be 
obeyed, leaves the pupils to " guess " what will 
happen to them in case of disobedience, until such 
disobedience occurs, when the punishment comes 
surely, promptly, and unmistakingly. 

(8) Scolding and using sarcasm and epithets. 
The teacher should use these weapons very rarely, 
and then only as deliberate and judicially applied 
punishments. 1 

1 "No punishment shall partake of the nature of torture of 
body or mind. All modes of punishment calculated to degrade 
a pupil, and the use, on the part of any teacher, of abusive 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 327 

(9) Cultivating the picturesque and bizarre. It 
seems to be a perversity of substitutes and inex- 
perienced teachers to run off into spelling matches, 
tactics, and other exercises entirely legitimate in 
their place and in the hands of experienced teachers, 
instead of keeping down to business. 

(10) Driving the willful child into obstinacy. 
Instead of avoiding conflict, the teacher is apt to 
think it her duty to raise issues and " conquer " the 
pupil's will. 

(n) Assigning school exercises as punishments. 
The wrong of doing this needs no demonstration, 
yet it is a mistake made by nearly every new 
teacher. 1 

(12) Punishing a group for the offense of an 

individual. Far better is it to let a dozen guilty 

language toward the pupil or his parents, are expressly forbidden." 
— Indianapolis, X. 

"Civility and politeness to pupils is commended to teachers. 
No teacher shall wound the feelings of any pupil by distortion of 
names, or by slighting or disparaging allusions to parents or friends. 
Violation of this rule will be cause for instant dismissal." — 
Seattle, VIII, 21. 

1 "In no case shall resort be held to confinement in closet or 
wardrobe, or to other cruel or unusual punishment as a mode of 
discipline. Pupils shall not be required to copy any part of any 
textbook or to write any word or sentence a great number of times 
as a punishment." — Louisville, XVIII, 3. 



328 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

pupils escape than, in punishing them, to punish a 
single innocent pupil. 

c. Specific aids. It is not sufficient for the 
principal to give his teachers these specific sug- 
gestions and cautions. He must aid them, new and 
experienced alike, by automatic provisions for 
treating disciplinary situations themselves. They 
must be given definite disciplinary powers in such 
matters as punishment of pupils, appealing to 
parents, and so on. The teacher should clearly 
understand how far she may go in the administration 
of punishment : what limits she should put upon 
her use of reproof and reprimand ; what privileges 1 
may properly be withheld from pupils; to what 
extent systems of merit and demerit may be used ; 
how long pupils may be detained after sessions, etc. 

1 The following is a self-explanatory form : 

Public School No. 50, Brooklyn 

Pass Card 

Name 

Class Room 

Nature of Privilege Granted 



To be retained during good behavior. Expires. 



John F. Harris 
Principal 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 329 

Wholesale detention of pupils is of little good 
effect; indeed, it is apt to be demoralizing rather 
than reforming. It is limited in many cities: 
e.g. Paterson and Rochester, to one hour; San 
Francisco, to forty minutes; New York and 
Seattle 1 to thirty minutes ; Cleveland, to twenty 
minutes. 2 

1 Seattle uses the following form : 

Seattle Public Schools 
detention blank 

Explanation as to Detention. — Pupils who have been 
absent or who from any cause have failed to prepare 
their lessons satisfactorily may be required to recite 
them after school. 

Pupils may also be detained for leaving the room, 
not as a punishment for so doing, but as a pledge of 
good faith that such a request is necessary and una- 
voidable. 

TO THE PARENT 

The bearer 

was detained by me until minutes after 

o'clock for 

Dated , 191 

Teacher. 



op 
C/2 



2 Baltimore requires that "in no case shall any teacher leave the 
schoolhouse while any pupil under his care shall be detained after 
the regular school hours." — VTI, 8. San Francisco has a similar 
provision. 



330 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Whether or not teachers should enter into direct 
communication with parents in regard to the dis- 
cipline of pupils, it is clear that there should be no 
misunderstanding on the point between principal 
and teachers. The limit of responsibility and the 
limit of restraint put upon the teachers should be 
accurately defined. 

One extreme is for the principal to permit teachers to 
communicate directly with parents on any matters con- 
cerning the welfare of pupils. He may go further and 
refuse to take part in such communication, or to 
assist teachers and parents in coming to an understanding, 
thus throwing the teachers entirely upon their own re- 
sources. 

The opposite course is to prohibit teachers from 
writing notes to parents, having all communications 
go directly from the principal to the parents. 

A middle course is to permit teachers to write notes, 
but to have all such notes countersigned or indorsed by 
the principal. Such a plan has certain advantages * and 
in following it, it is helpful to prescribe certain note forms 
to be used under all ordinary conditions. If " blank" 
forms can be furnished to the teachers for use in each 
case, the result is economy of effort for the teacher, and 
a guarantee of good arrangement of the note that is 
sent. 

1 Cf. pp. 54, 128. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 331 

A suggested form is : 

Public School No. 100, 

Broadway and Fulton St., 

New York, 19. .. 

M 



Dear : 

I am sorry to tell you that is disorderly 

in the classroom. Naturally this is affecting h. . school 
work. Will you please to give the matter your attention, 
and oblige, 

Respectfully, 



> 

Teacher. 

or body of note as follows : 

I regret that I must inform you of 's misconduct. 

To-day 

I am sure that you do not approve of such behavior and 
trust that you will cooperate to prevent its recurrence. 

Where such forms are supplied the teacher is not to feel 
hampered by their use ; if she wishes to send a note not 
in accordance with a form, she should be free to do so 
with the approval of the principal. 

2. The principal as disciplinarian. There is a 
greater duty placed upon the principal than simply 
that of training his teachers to become good dis- 



332 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

ciplinarians. He must himself be the chief disci- 
plinary force in the school. He must not content 
himself with assigning a teacher to her classroom, 
telling her what is expected of her, and then leaving 
her to work out her own salvation entirely. The 
morale of the school should be something more 
than what is brought out by the sum of the inde- 
pendent efforts of all the teachers. The principal 
should be the disciplinary leader, the counselor and 
guide to teachers and pupils. In respect to dis- 
cipline he has a threefold function : (a) To establish 
school spirit, (b) to take precautionary and pre- 
ventive measures against misconduct, and (c) to 
exercise his legal authority as disciplinarian. 

a. School spirit. A school " atmosphere," school 
loyalty, school morale, esprit de corps, — all these, 
so essential to securing the best results in the 
development of a school organization, cannot be 
gained in a day. School spirit, pride in the school 
and thought for its name and honor must become a 
matter of tradition and, once established, be handed 
down from one set of pupils to another. The 
influence of the older pupils upon the younger; of 
the graduates of the school upon their younger 
brothers and sisters, and their friends ; of the parents 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 333 

and other citizens in the community, — all are of 
immense direct value in their effect upon the con- 
duct of pupils. It counts for much if the parents 
advise their friends, " Get your boy into No. 100 
if you can ; it is a great school " ; if the alumni 
think that it is a special honor to graduate from the 
school; and if the older pupils correct the young 
offenders in the name of the school. 

Many agencies factor in the development of a 
traditional school spirit. We shall consider the 
most important of them. 1 

Ideals and habits. In a sense it is true, of course, 
that we are but a bundle of habits. Much of the 
educational process is given over to the establish- 
ment of correct habits. The school must train pupils 
in habits. Aside from the purely scholastic habits, 
school as well as home training deals chiefly with 
manners and morals. Few distinctions can be 
drawn between manners and morals; but from the 
practical pedagogic standpoint the two are inevitably 
interdependent. For the child, morals is largely a 
matter of manners ; for the intelligent adult, man- 

1 For general discussion of the socialization of the school, see 
King, Social Aspects of Education, on such topics as the school 
garden, school festival clubs, morning assembly, playgrounds, etc. 



334 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

ners is largely a matter of morals. Hence , while we 
would make the adult mannerly through his moral 
sense, we reach the young child's morals largely 
through his manners. We have, therefore, a deep 
reason for teaching manners, — as a means to moral 
ends, — as well as the important reason of teaching 
them for their own intrinsic value. 

To run the gamut from manners to morals is to 
go from the mere social conventions such as saluta- 
tions, public deportment, table etiquette, and the 
like, through the hygienic requirements of cleanli- 
ness, exercise, sleep, posture, dress, and so on, up 
to the recognized commandments as to truth 
telling, chastity, and reverence. The initial influ- 
ence of the home upon these habits is not to 
be underestimated, but we know that we cannot 
assume that they are irrevocably settled in the 
first six years of the child's life, either for good or 
for bad. 

The law of growth must be recognized: as the 
pupil grows out from under dogmatic government up 
to self-government, from obedience perforce to obe- 
dience to right, he will find for both his manners and 
his morals increasingly intelligent motives. Never- 
theless, the aim of disciplinary education is to con- 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 335 

vert all these virtues into habits, so that politeness, 
cleanliness, and honesty equally become automatic 
expressions of a symmetrically developed character. 
The school, as it takes over the young child from 
the preponderating influence of the home, must 
both strengthen the good habits it finds and combat 
the wrong ones, whatever their origin and what- 
ever the force of contending influences. Prin- 
cipal and teachers must all at every point do 
their utmost to inculcate good habits in manners 
and morals among pupils. Discipline of pupils, 
meaning their training to do right, is frequently 
construed by the teacher to mean training them to 
do what she wants them to do. If her wants are 
broadly intelligent, all is well; but many teachers 
attend chiefly or solely to those habits which most 
directly affect the pupils' accomplishment of intel- 
lectual tasks. It is quite possible for a boy with 
soiled hands and face to master his geography 
lesson ; a girl can write an interesting composition 
regardless of careless coiffure or slovenly attire ; a 
pupil who is daily becoming more and more of a 
liar can yet do keen work in arithmetic; and thus 
the teacher may overlook the moral in her education 
of the intellectual. 



336 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 



One New York City principal puts in the hands of 
her pupils the following printed schedule : 

HABIT FORMATION 
Home Duties 



At Home 
Be courteous. 
Be obedient. 
Prepare your lessons. 
Speak correctly. 

Rise without Being Called 
Rise with regularity. 
Bathe thoroughly. 
Dress rapidly. 
Dress neatly. 

Regularity of Meals 
Eat proper food. 
Eat slowly. 
Use knife and fork. 
Be tidy at table. 



Retire without Being Told 
Retire with regularity. 
Undress rapidly. 
Arrange clothing neatly. 
Clean teeth and nails. 

Home Employment for Boys 

and Girls 
Air rooms. 
Make beds. 
Brush floor. 
Dust rooms. 
Wash dishes. 
Wipe dishes. 

Help with younger children. 
Run errands. 



School Duties 
Be courteous. Be industrious. 

Be attentive. Be trustworthy. 

Speak correctly. 

Civic Duties 
Be courteous on the street. Observe safety laws. 
Help to keep the street tidy. Respect public buildings. 
Speak gently and correctly. 

Katherine D. Blake, 
Principal, P. S. No. 6, Manhattan. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 337 

It is the business of the principal not alone to 
emphasize the work of moral education, but also to 
be careful not to nullify this emphasis by holding 
the teacher and her class too constantly to purely 
intellectual standards. To preach to teachers the 
necessity for moral training, and then to rate them 
solely on the absolute results their classes show on 
written examinations, is to make a pretense and a 
farce of character building. 

Good habits, it scarce need be said, must be taught 
first of all by example. The Cleveland Board of 
Education puts it well : "It shall be a duty of the 
first importance on the part of teachers to be models 
in personal appearance and in conduct, for the 
pupils under their care. They are especially en- 
joined to avail themselves of every opportunity to 
inculcate neatness, promptness, politeness, cheerful- 
ness, truthfulness, patriotism, and all the virtues 
which contribute to the effectiveness of the schools, 
the good order of society, and the safety of our 
American citizenship." 

The establishment and sustenance of moral habits 
is dependent upon the development of proper ideals. 
As " the emotional element is dominant/ ' and as 
" art, literature (including poetry, the drama, and 



338 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

fiction), music, and religion are the great media for 
the transmission of ideals and as such fulfill an 
educative function far more fundamental than our 
didactic pedagogy has ever realized/' 1 it is evident 
that this phase of the school life must be deliberately 
enforced and constantly reenforced. Principal and 
teachers should at every convenient opportunity 
hold before the pupils stirring examples of loyalty, 
of " team-work,'' of sacrifice, as discovered in his- 
tory, geography, and literature, and in the daily 
events in school life and in the great world-life, 
occasionally leading the pupils to make the direct 
inference as applied to school spirit. 

Letters of recommendation. That school counts 
in business may be brought home to pupils by 
keeping before them the fact that school ideals are 
business ideals and that if they would cultivate 
the worthwhile business habits they must first 
cultivate those habits in the school life. 

An established and advertised policy in issu- 
ing letters of recommendation to pupils leaving 
school can be made to contribute toward their good 
conduct while they are yet in school. These letters 
may be in accordance with certain forms, copies 
1 Bagley, Educative Process, p. 224. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 339 

of which are kept posted in the classrooms as a 
constant reminder to the pupils that the school 
record " counts' ' in this practical way. 

The following set of forms is suggested : 

Letters of Recommendation Issued from 
Public School No. 100 
Form One 

Public School No. 100, New York, 

I 9-- 

To Whom It May Concern: 

I take pleasure in recommending , 

who has been a pupil of this school for years. He 

(she) has been punctual and regular in attendance, industrious 
and successful in his (her) work, and courteous and well- 
behaved in every way. He (she) has been one of our very 
best pupils, and I am confident merits your most favorable 
consideration. 

Respectfully, 

> 

Teacher. 
I am very glad to indorse the above statements. 

> 

Principal. 

Form Two 

Public School No. 100, New York, 

19 •• 

To Whom It May Concern : 

I take pleasure in recommending to your favorable notice, 
, who has been a pupil of this 



340 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

school for years. He (she) has been punctual and 

regular in attendance, industrious and well-behaved. 
Respectfully, 

i 

Teacher. 

I am glad to indorse the above statements. 

'• •} 

Principal. 

Form Three 

Public School No. ioo, New York, 

I 9-- 

To Whom It May Concern: 

I hereby recommend , who 

has been a pupil of this school for .... years. He (she) 
has been passably punctual and regular in attendance and 
fairly well-behaved and industrious. 

Respectfully, 

j 

Teacher. 

I indorse the above. 

? 

Principal. 

Form Four 

Public School No. ioo, New York, 

i9- •• 

To Whom It May Concern: 

I am asked to recommend , 

who has been a pupil of this school for years. I regret 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 341 

that I can only say that he has been irregular in attendance 
and punctuality, poor in his work, and generally ill-behaved. 
Respectfully, 



Teacher. 
I am sorry that I must indorse the above. 



Principal. 

In case of graduates, the words " and who was grad- 
uated 19. . " are added to the first sentence 

in either One or Two. 

It will be noticed that all of the above are addressed to 
whom it may concern, and hence are designed to be given 
to pupils upon their own request. It is suggested that 
requests by mail from outsiders for information con- 
cerning pupils be replied to in the following form : 

Public School No. 100, 

Broadway and Fulton St., 

19— 

M 



Dear 



Replying to your favor of , requesting 

information regarding , I 

beg to state that the following is a transcript of h . . record 

for the last years ( terms) in which 

... he was a pupil here : 



342 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 



Term 


Grade 


Days 

Absent f 


Feb.-June, 19. . . 
Sep. '. . -Jan. '. . 
Feb.-June, 19. . . 
Sep. '. . -Jan. '. . 
Feb.-June, 19. . . 







Conduct 



Our record, further, shows that ... he was born 

19 . . , admitted to this school , 19. . , and dis- 
charged, (graduated) , 19. . . 

Respectfully, 



Principal. 

The assembly. The school assembly, and in 
lesser measure the class " opening exercises/' l is a 
valuable instrument for the fixing of ideals and 
the establishment of esprit de corps. The individual 
is sensitive to the sentiment of the group and the 
principal should use every means to make the school 
sentiment, which will influence every pupil, of the 
right character. 

Schemes for making the assembly an occasion of 
profit and interest and the means for the culti- 

1 The following is a typical provision : 

"Each school, either collectively or in classes, shall be opened 
by the reading, without comment, of a chapter in the Holy Bible 
and the use of the Lord's prayer. The Douay version may be 
used by those pupils who prefer it." — Baltimore, XVI. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 343 

vation of ideals are innumerable. 1 A few are here 
noted suggestively : 

(1) Recitations by pupils. Avoid show work of 
the gifted; better the successful effort of the dif- 
fident pupil to overcome his embarrassment and 
develop his self-respect than the exploitation of 
the students specially trained in elocution. In 
the subject matter, keep closely to the regular 
work of the classes. There is ample material that 
relates to or supplements the subjects of study, 
without bringing in popular recitation " pieces." 

(2) Discussions by pupils of current events. 

(3) Studies of pictures and other objects of art. 

(4) Musical studies of all kinds, again omitting 
disproportionate individual exploitation. 

(5) Celebration of special days, such as birthdays, 
battle days, anniversaries of inventions, discoveries, 
etc. 

(6) Flag drill and other distinctively patriotic 
exercises. 

(7) Outside speakers. Not every one can talk 
interestingly to children, but there are many who 
can bring to the pupils words of practical everyday 

1 See The School Assembly, published by the Bureau of Reference 
and Research, Board of Education, New York City, 191 7. 



344 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

wisdom and inspiration. Pupils will give close 
attention to policemen, firemen, or other familiar 
city personages who address them on the technical- 
ities of their special professions as related to schools 
and school children. Addresses by alumni, giving 
tangible evidence of what schooling means in results, 
are welcome. Pupils are interested also in hearing 
of the records made by graduates of the school in 
their post-graduate careers. 1 

(8) Motion pictures, when equipment can be 
secured. The motion picture as an educational 
instrument must be taken into account by the 
principal. Its use as a medium of entertainment is 
naturally exploited by those whose motives are 
solely commercial. The school has the grave duty of 
counteracting the unwholesome effects of the com- 
mercialized " movie " both by the general develop- 
ment of taste and ideals and by the even more 
effective method of competition, using the motion 
picture in the school with selected material. 2 

1 Cf. New Haven, "No person, not connected with the school, 
shall be invited or allowed to address pupils or teachers of any 
school or take part in any entertainment at any school building 
without the approval of the Superintendent." — V, 145. 

2 See two articles on the subject by Lawrence A. Averill in the 
Educational Review, November, 191 5, and May, 19 18. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 345 

Athletics. School athletics, especially those 
branches which develop team play, may, if properly 
organized and carefully supervised, promote physical 
development, reenforce the scholastic effort of 
pupils, and stimulate school spirit. " Every one 
believes that ample opportunity for physical exercise 
should be afforded all school children, but there are 
limits to the indulgence of this taste, and it is impor- 
tant that neither the moral standards of the par- 
ticipants should be debased by improper practices 
nor should their health be impaired by overexertion. 
Neither should athletics be allowed to assume too 
important a place in the minds of the pupils to the 
disadvantage of academic subjects." J 

Pupil organizations. Organization of the pupils 
within the school, along somewhat social lines, may 
be possible under certain conditions, and thus con- 
tribute to school spirit. Musical clubs, photographic 
clubs, literary societies, scientific meetings, and so 
on, practically without limit, are all within the range 
of possibility. It is wise, however, not to permit too 
great a diversity of interest and dissipation of energy. 2 

1 Annual Report of the School Committee of the City of Boston, 
1906, p. 34. 

2 All organizations must, of course, be kept under the strict 
control of the principal. Covered by regulations in several cities, 



346 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

School publications. A school journal may, with 
supervisory aid, be conducted by pupil editors and 
managers, and give a legitimate expression to intelli- 
gent interest on behalf of a large number of pupils. 
A sufficient amount of advertising matter to support 
the publication of such a paper may usually be se- 
cured by a little enterprise. 1 

e.g. Minneapolis: "No organization or society of pupils of any- 
kind, or for any purpose, either secret or open, shall be allowed to 
exist in any elementary or high school, except by written request 
of the principal indorsed by the Superintendent and approved by 
the Board of Education. Any pupil becoming a member of such 
organization or society in violation of any of the provisions of this 
rule may be suspended or dismissed, or prevented from graduating 
or participating in school honors." — IX, 7. 

1 Public School 73, Brooklyn, publishes a semi-annual journal, 
The Comet. Mr. Ambrose Cort, principal, gives the following sum- 
mary of the proposition : 

"It is published in January and June, sells at 10 cents the copy. 
We sell 700 or 800 of the 1000 printed largely to pupils and alumni. 

"We get about $40 worth of ads., thus raising in all about $110, 
from which we pay the expense of $90 for printing, and have a 
surplus for the School Fund. 

"Older boys get the smaller ads. The principal gets the larger 
ones. Every class has a Comet representative, who assists the 
teacher in sales and in getting literary or news material from the 
class. 

"The assistant principal and her board of teachers do most of 
the work of gathering material; viz., class^notes, honor rolls, com- 
positions, news of school activities, etc. 

"The principal writes the editorials, including a message to 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 347 

Alumni organizations. An enthusiastic alumni 
association can give material support to a school. It 
is better to have no association, however, than to 
have one that is weak or uninterested in the school 
itself. In a new school, an association can be 
organized with the first graduating class. The 
principal may inspire this organization and for a 
while direct its energies, but as the years go on, he 
should gradually withdraw his prompting, leaving 
the work to be done entirely by the graduates them- 
selves. They may give material donations to the 
school from time to time ; but nothing of this kind, 
excellent as it is, can equal in value the more 
intangible moral influence of an organized body 
of alumni who themselves reflect in their speech 
and conduct the high ideals of a school which has 
won their devotion and loyalty. 

children or parents or both, on an important phase of the school's 
life. 

"This month's issue we propose devoting largely to a description 
of our war work; pictures of soldiers, once boys of the school; 
letters from soldiers ; appeals to patriotism, etc. 

"I believe that this paper helps ' school spirit,' furnishes in- 
centives to endeavor, and helps to form enlightened community 
sentiment through children and parent readers. We tackle such 
questions as children's diet, sleep, amusements, employment, 
daily speech, and habits in general." 



348 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

School savings banks. Many schools, in a number 
of different cities, have instituted a banking system 
by which pupils are encouraged to make deposits 
even of one cent, thus inculcating ideals and habits 
of thrift and adding another factor in emphasizing 
school spirit. 1 

School gardens. There are many arguments in 
favor of establishing and maintaining gardens as a 
recognized adjunct to the school life, if not, indeed, 
as a recognized part of the curriculum. They may 
be regarded, too, as a school unifying force, one 
more agency for the inculcation of school spirit. 
Many cities officially recognize the school garden 
as an integral part of the school organization, and 
the United States Bureau of Education maintains a 
Division of School and Home Gardening. 

For practical counsel on the subject, see the publica- 
tions of the " School Garden Association of America " of 
which Mr. Van Evrie Kilpatrick, principal, Public School 

1 Board of Education, City of New York, Document No. 6 — 1914, 
School Savings Banks, presents a report made by Dr. Edward B. 
Shallow, Associate City Superintendent, in which is outlined "a 
plan under which such banks should be organized and managed." 

Minneapolis uses a system of stamp accounts. 

Kansas City gives prizes to the schools and classrooms having 
the largest number of school savings bank books in proportion to 
number of pupils enrolled. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 349 

26, Manhattan, New York, is president. He says : 
"The school garden should be first placed on the school 
grounds and then at the homes of the school children. 
A school garden that does not surely increase the home 
gardens is not worth a moment's consideration. Better 
home gardening should follow school gardening in the 
same way that better accountancy in the counting house 
follows arithmetic in the classroom. There should be a 
school garden at every schoolhouse in the land, how- 
ever small that garden may be. It may be a greenhouse 
on the roof, it may be a lawn in the front of the school, 
or it may be a vegetable plot beside the school. The 
work that is not good enough for teacher to do is not 
good enough for pupil to do. To plant a garden at school 
and not properly take care of it may justly be termed 
an educational tragedy." 

"In every graded school there should be at least 
one teacher who is able to teach the sciences and 
gardening. The equipment and supplies necessary for 
that work should be supplied directly by the Board of 
Education.' ' 

Frederick L. Holtz, Nature Study y has a chapter on 
"The School Garden." 

b. Preventive measures. The principal cannot 
let the question of the morale of his school rest solely 
on the expression of school spirit, no matter how 
many factors may contribute to the establishment of 



350 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

high ideals. There will always be the certain 
proportion of untrained or unreformed individual 
pupils. Precautionary and preventive measures 
must be taken at every point to anticipate and 
forestall difficulty. A few definite school regulations, 
general in their application, may be issued, so that 
certain classes of offenses may be clearly dealt with 
as violations of specific school rules. 

Fixed responsibility. Constant responsibility for 
the conduct of pupils must be placed upon teachers. 
A teacher, upon leaving her pupils in the classroom, 
should always notify the teacher of the nearest room 
of her temporary absence. The other teacher there- 
upon becomes responsible for the safety and conduct 
of the first teacher's pupils in addition to her own. 
This does not imply a too detailed supervision of 
these pupils, but it does mean that the pupils real- 
ize, as a matter of course, that they are always 
answerable to some person in authority in the 
school. Moreover, in case of emergency such as a 
fire drill, pupils are protected, and in case of accident 
or other unfavorable occurrence, the public has the 
assurance that reasonable effort was made by the 
school administrators to prevent it. 

Some supervision of pupils leaving the class- 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 351 

room individually during the session is a preventive 
of disorder (see p. 214). 1 

Prevention of forgeries. The attempts of misbe- 
having pupils to thwart the cooperation of parents 
and teachers by clever forgery of signatures, etc., 
must be met by cleverness in their detection and 
punishment. 2 The whole effort of the principal will, 
of course, be in the direction of developing in pupils 
the habit of right doing for right's sake, and of 
fostering the highest possible ideals as motives for 
good conduct. Nevertheless, throughout the long 
process of development of these lofty ideals, the 
pupils must always feel that wrong conduct will be 
detected and punished by those in authority and 
that it is useless to try to " win out " along wrong 
lines. 

Attendance of pupils. Irregular attendance of 
pupils is a source of difficulty in many directions. 
In addition to the disastrous consequences to progress 
in scholarship there is the establishment of a bad 

1 "No mail shall be delivered to pupils at school buildings, 
except in connection with authorized publications and athletics." 
— Syracuse, III. 

2 "Any pupil who forges the name of any parent or guardian, or 
other person authorized to sign excuses or requests, or knowingly 
presents a forged paper, may be suspended." — Portland, Ore., n. 



352 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

habit, a lessening of respect for the school as a 
serious occupation, and a tendency to disorder due 
to the loss of continuity in lessons. 1 

Regular attendance should, of course, be secured 
through the pupil's liking for school. In the early 
years he attends chiefly for the immediate interests 
created and satisfied by the school. Later there is 
added the response to a sense of duty. He realizes 
the value of education and obligation to society. 
The pupil must feel that absence from school is a 
loss, his loss ; and part of the duty of the principal 
is to make his school something that pupils cannot 
afford to lose. 

But even with the most attractive of schools, 
using the word attractive in its best and broadest 
sense, many pupils will be unnecessarily absent and 
tardy. It then becomes a matter of discipline, and 
as such must be governed by the law of growth. 
At first, the attendance of the child is a matter of 
obedience : he must go to school. If in no other 
way, he must be brought daily by some one at home, 
until the habit of school-going has been established. 

1 A word of caution may be given to the effect that absence may- 
be too severely emphasized , particularly in the case of higher-grade 
girls. (See p. 225.) 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 353 

Later, he should attend as a matter of reason : He 
ought to go to school. 

Practically everywhere the law puts clearly upon 
parents the duty of sending their children to school. 
It correspondingly gives teachers the right to demand 
satisfactory accounting from parents when their 
children are absent. 

Kansas City uses the following printed form : 

Notice of Absence 

Kansas City, Mo., 191 . . 

School 

M 

Will you kindly inform me why was 

absent from school ? 

The following are the Rules of the Board governing such 
cases : 

[Five paragraphs follow] 

Respectfully yours, 



Teacher. 

There is a corresponding form for tardiness. 

Rochester provides : " Parents are required to furnish 
a written excuse for each absence. This excuse must 
state the specific reason for the absence. A general 
statement that the parent has kept the child at home 
cannot be accepted." — V, 5. 

The Portland, Ore., board " explicitly delegates to 
2 A 



354 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

teachers the right to judge of the sufficiency of all excuses 
not otherwise especially provided for. In case of doubt, 
the teacher will consult the principal." 

Some cities require that written excuses shall be pre- 
served by the teacher until the end of the term. 

San Francisco provides that "Each pupil shall have a 
particular desk, and shall keep the same, and the floor 
beneath, in a neat and orderly condition," and that 
"Any pupil who shall be absent one week, without 
giving notice to the teacher, shall lose all claim to his 
particular desk for the remainder of the term, and shall 
not be considered a member of the school." — 57, 120, (b). 

Indianapolis provides that "Absences which occur 
when the attendance of the pupil would occasion a serious 
and imprudent exposure to health shall be regarded the 
same as absence occasioned by sickness." — XX, 6. 

Albany, on the reverse of its report card sent to parents, 
includes the statement : 

"A written excuse for absence and tardiness is re- 
quired. The only legitimate excuses under the Com- 
pulsory Education Law are : 

a. Personal illness. 

b. Illness in the family requiring the child's services for 
a day or two. 

c. Weather conditions that make it unsafe for a child 
to be out." 

Truancy. In spite of continuous efforts there 
are still baffling cases of willful, persistent absence 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 355 

which we call truancy. Compulsory education laws 
in most States provide attendance officers whose 
duty it is to carry the authority of the State into the 
homes and on the streets in a search for and capture 
of truants. The principal usually has certain 
definite duties of cooperation with these officers, 
varying in the different States, which affect his 
pedagogic treatment of truancy. Among general 
propositions may be noted the following : 

1. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom from 
extensive truancy. Teachers must be trained to 
notify parents promptly of absence of pupils and to 
secure satisfactory excuses from pupils upon their 
return. They should err, if at all, on the safe side, 
and be over-careful rather than not cautious enough. 
They must feel their responsibility, and not permit 
unexplained absence to run without reporting it. 

2. To deal effectively with the truant, the prin- 
cipal must sympathize with him and understand his 
temptation. 

It is certainly not difficult to understand the truant. 
Two factors enter into the make-up of the human indi- 
vidual, heredity and environment. 

Heredity is twofold, general and special. 

In general, the boy inherits from centuries of the race 



356 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

the nomadic instinct. For millions of years his ances- 
tors were living out of doors; it is for but a compara- 
tively brief period that any of them have been going 
to school. The "natural" instinct, then, is to listen to 
the call of the wild ; the call to the schoolroom is a modern 
and conventional one. What is more natural than that 
a child, even though he has been drilled for several years 
in the conventional habit of school-going, should occa- 
sionally lapse into the ancestral state for a day or two ? 
Indeed, what adult is there with red blood in his circu- 
lation, who does not at some time rebel against the 
restraints of that conventionalism, which, as Dr. Van 
Dyke says, "transforms the rhythm of life into a loga- 
rithm." 

Specifically, the boy has a more immediate inheritance 
which may make or mar his natural equipment. A very 
few generations of ill-nurtured or disease-succumbing 
parents suffice to launch the child into life with a severe 
handicap in the form of serious physical defects. To 
persist in going to school when school offers no appeal, 
and when to stay out of doors is to follow the path of 
least resistance, demands of a boy a certain amount of 
dynamic force. When, however, the immediate inherit- 
ance of the child is a defective body and unresisting 
will, the result is a mental inertia which must be over- 
come before the conventional school can hold him against 
the natural out-of-doors. 

The environment factor is manifold, but chiefly, for 
the truant, it is of the home and of the school, and it 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 357 

behooves us to consider both. The home conditions may 
be squalid and the home forces may be against the in- 
fluence of the school and in favor of driving the boy to 
the bad. On the other hand, the school itself, at least 
the particular class and teacher that represent the 
school environment of the truant, may be such as to repel 
rather than attract. 1 

All of these factors must be given consideration by the 
principal in dealing with the individual truant before he 
can meet him on a basis of sympathetic understanding. 
If the truant feels that the principal knows what he is 
"up against," he is much more likely to listen to argu- 
ment and appeal. 

1 Of eighty-five truants examined by the Bureau of Child Hy- 
giene of the New York City Department of Health, "In nine in- 
stances the family history appeared to have a definite bearing on 
the truancy, the father being alcoholic in five cases, insane in one, 
and tuberculous in one. In two cases the brother of the truant 
was epileptic. In two instances the truant himself gave a history 
of convulsions. In eight instances the examining physician 
reported 'stigmata of degeneration present.' The blood pressure 
showed nothing abnormal." 

"There were 64 truants with some obstruction to nasal breath- 
ing. Many of these obstructions were of traumatic origin. Eye- 
sight was defective in 27 out of 77 truants, not being tested in 8. 
The proportion of bony deformities was high, as witness the 
following number of cases found in 84 truants: bowed legs, 2; 
lordosis, 3 ; kyphosis, 3 ; scoliosis, 10 ; flat foot, 6 ; rachitic chest, 
2. An irritable heart was reported in 7 cases, and endocarditis in 
10. The heart was normal in 68 cases. Pulmonary tuberculosis 
was encountered in only one individual." 



358 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

3. If the principal can get into sympathetic 
relations with one truant, he can often successfully 
use him as a means of influence with other truants, 
for the truant infrequently travels alone. 

4. Discipline cases of pupils inclined to truancy 
must be handled with particular skill, lest in reach- 
ing the lesser offense the pupil is prompted to com- 
mit the greater one of staying away from school 
altogether. 

Punctuality. Lateness for younger pupils is 
usually the fault of the parents, whose cooperation 
must be secured ; for older pupils it can be made a 
matter of duty, and with them the emphasis may be 
placed upon the training for life, and especially for 
business. 

Louisville provides : "Any pupil who shall not be 
present punctually . . . before being allowed to take 
his place in his class shall, if the principal request it, pre- 
sent an excuse signed by the parent or guardian stating 
the cause of tardiness." — 14, 6. It would seem, how- 
ever, that no pupil should ever be excluded from the 
school building for lateness, either by rule or by spirit ; 
the stimuli to truancy are sufficiently plentiful without 
adding this one. 

Many forms of notes to apply to attendance and punc- 
tuality could be devised, but local conditions will so far 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 359 

govern the exact wording as to make inadvisable the 
suggestion of more than the following : 

(1) Public School No. 100, 

Broadway and Fulton St., 

New York, 19. .. 

M 



Dear : 

I am sorry to inform you that has been late 

times this 

By seeing that . .he is punctual in the future, you will 
oblige, 

Respectfully, 



Principal. 
(2) Public School No. 100, 

Broadway and Fulton St., 
New York, 19 . 



M.... 
Dear. 



has been late times in the last 

weeks. 

It is extremely important that the habit of punctuality 
shall become fixed in a pupil's school life. Will you therefore 

kindly cooperate with us in our effort to secure 's 

punctual attendance. 

Respectfully, 

? 

Principal. 



360 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Many schemes for securing attendance and punc- 
tuality are variously popular. 1 To appeal to class 
spirit and to class rivalry is a favorite method; to 
designate by some decoration, a flag, for example, 
the class having perfect attendance and punctual- 
ity is another; and so on. Such plans usually 
produce results, but even in their use there should 
be a constant struggle to get away from this to 
some higher motive. 

By some it is thought logical to reward a class 
which has made a record for a stated period by dis- 
missing those pupils some minutes earlier on the 
last day of the period ; but it would seem as though 
such a reward were based upon a wrong conception 
of school. Should pupils be encouraged to regard 

1 Dayton uses a card of honor : 

Dayton Public Schools 
Card of Honor 

Earned by 

who has not been absent one-half 
day nor tardy once this semester 

191 •• 

Frank W. Miller, 
Superintendent of Instruction. 

A similar card is used for "not less than 90% in any subject 
this semester." 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 361 

school as something to be avoided, and exemption 
from participation in school exercises something to 
be desired and striven for? Would it not be more 
logical to reward all pupils who have met the condi- 
tion of a perfect record in attendance — or, in fact, 
any other desirable condition — with the privilege 
of remaining beyond the time of the regular school 
session? It would be a poor teacher indeed who 
could not make an extra half hour or hour, indoors 
or out, once a week or once a month, so interesting 
that pupils would strive to earn the privilege of 
sharing it with her. 

c. Principal's legal responsibility. The principal 
is the ultimate authority in the school. He is the 
court of appeal before which teachers present their 
cases against pupils. He should constantly strive 
to establish such a school spirit and to exercise 
such precautionary supervision as will make ex- 
ceptional a serious outbreak on the part of any 
pupil. Nevertheless there will be cases where 
the teacher exhausts her pedagogic skill and her 
authoritative measures with an individual pupil. 
The best way of regarding it is to claim not 
that the teacher has exhausted her skill, but that 
she has expended all of it that any one pupil is 



362 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

entitled to. 1 The well-behaved pupils of the class 
have a superior right to her time and attention. 

Principal as counselor. The teacher ought to 
be made to feel free to seek the counsel of the prin- 
cipal in an informal way at any reasonable time. 
The principal ought to advise with her in regard to 
a disturbing discipline case, sometimes in the class- 
room directly, sometimes in office conference. 2 He 

1 "Each teacher shall be held responsible for the order and 
discipline of his own room, practicing such discipline as would be 
expected of a kind, firm, and judicious parent in his family. 
Teachers shall avoid corporal punishment when good discipline 
can be preserved by milder means." — Indianapolis, XIX, 10. 

2 The following analysis slip is used in a Brooklyn school : 

The Glenwood School 

Pupil Class 

Teacher Date 

Needing Reformation 

1. Late. . . .times, since. . . . 

2. Absent days, since 

3. Does not seem to care 

4. Disobedient : refusal ; neglect 

5. Argumentative 

6. Impudent 

7. When corrected, smiles 

8. Lies , cheats , steals 

9. Has the habit of 

10. Lacks "class honor" feeling 

11. Acts in a silly manner 

12. Interrupts by 

13. Does little or no work 

14. Inattentive 

15. Fusses with things 

16. Annoys, pushes, trips, strikes 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 363 

will seek to have her rather develop her own disci- 
plinary art than to depend on him for set rules. 

Such conferences ought to be regarded as quite 
distinctive from formal appeals from teacher to 
principal for the exercise of authority. The fact 
that a teacher solicits the professional counsel of 
the principal, provided she uses ordinary common 
sense, ought not to be held by the principal as 
an indication of disciplinary weakness. On the 
contrary it signifies a professional ability that is 
lacking both in the teacher who gives no special 
thought to her disciplinary problems but hastily 
" sends to the office " all troublesome cases, and 
in ~the teacher who has good surface control of 
class but gains it by passing over the real problems. 

The discipline " case." When the teacher has 
exhausted the resources upon which she should 
reasonably draw in the discipline of a pupil, she 
should refer the case formally, officially, legally, 
to the higher disciplinary authority, the principal. 

17. Hinders the class work 

18. Talks ; talks out 

19. Throws things 

20. Makes noises , hums 

21. Chews gum in class 

22. Marks books ; cuts desks 

23. Sulks ; procrastinates 

24. Cuts recitations ; truant 



364 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

She should not send the pupil from the room 
with the peremptory order "Go to the principal. " 
Time spent in writing a formal complaint is com- 
pensated for by the added dignity and seriousness 1 
which the complaint assumes, and by the evidence 
thus given to the accused pupil and all the others that 
the teacher acts only in a calm and judicial manner. 

For the adoption of a formal system, the following 
suggestions are offered : 
A card of some such arrangement as this — 
DISCIPLINE 



Case Settled 


Public School No. 100 


Date: 


Room No Date 19 

Name __ _ _ __ 




Reason 






By 










,___ __ __ _ .Teacher 







( No pupil reported should be permitted to return without credential 
from the office.) 

1 Psychological "vividness," one of the factors of recall, is thus 
employed. Cf. Bagley, Educative Process, p. 171 : "If the child 
is to be corrected for a serious fault, it is necessary to make the 
experience of correction as vivid as possible in order absolutely to 
insure an inhibitory effect in the future.'' 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 365 

— should have entered on it all the necessary informa- 
tion as to the items indicated. The complaint should be 
specific. General charges, while they may be understood 
by the principal, are not readily handled. The principal 
realizes that a boy whose misconduct takes the form of 
petty disorders and sly meannesses is more of a problem 
for the teacher than one who deliberately assaults an- 
other or willfully breaks a pane of glass ; but this is not so 
well understood by the layman, particularly by the parent 
or by the board of education committee before whom the 
case may ultimately come upon an appeal. Hence the 
principal cannot accept a charge of " general disorder " 
because that is too indefinite; nor of "talking, " because 
that is usually regarded lightly by laymen; nor of " in- 
attention " because that is a psychological matter and 
chargeable to the teacher and her method. But "will- 
ful disobedience," "impudence," "insolence," are recog- 
nizable offenses. It is better to make even these more 
specific, and to frame charges thus : " I told him to change 
his seat and he refused to do so." "He told me 'I will 
not' when I ordered him to pass to the line." "Mali- 
ciously kicked William during a recitation." 

The cases of general disorder can usually be reached 
by reducing them to their lowest common denominator, 
namely, a specific instance of willful disobedience. 

A pupil thus reported should not under any circum- 
stances be permitted to return to his room without au- 
thority from the principal. He is not to return with a 
statement that "the principal is not in his office," or even 



366 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

to get his hat or his books — these can be sent to the prin- 
cipal by the teacher or sent for by the principal. Once 
formally reported, the pupil must feel that he has taken 
himself out of the class society, to which only a satis- 
factory settlement can restore him. 

It is almost needless to say that when a pupil 
has been reported to the principal, he must receive 
no consideration, pending the settlement of his case, 
which tends to make his isolation in any way agree- 
able or interesting : he must not be sent on errands 
because he is handy ; he must not even be a witness 
of the routine work of the office, for this may have a 
passing interest ; he must be kept, so far as may be, 
alone with his thoughts. 

Frequently the principal may consider the case 
one which the teacher could have handled ; when so, 
he may place his own ideas before her and ask if she 
still wishes the formal complaint to stand. If she 
does, the principal will take her at her word and 
continue the case ; on the contrary, if she sees that 
she might have drawn further on her own resources, 
she may make an excuse for hunting up the pupil 
and securing from him some satisfactory assurance 
of his good intentions. She may then on behalf 
of the pupil ask the principal to cancel the formal 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 367 

charge, thus perhaps winning over the pupil by her 
intercession for him. 

Disposition of case. By observing certain rules 
the principal may dispose of disciplinary cases 
promptly, unhesitatingly, and yet satisfactorily 
and with due regard to the individuality of the 
pupil. 

(1) He must maintain a judicial attitude and 
temper throughout. He must avoid the personal 
element and keep the issue to the point, namely, 
that the pupil has violated the law. 

(2) He must bear in mind the progressive char- 
acter of proper discipline, varying with the age 
and understanding of the pupil. 

(3) His treatment must be proportioned to the 
magnitude of the offense, the spirit in which it was 
committed, and the past record and personal equa- 
tion of the offender. 

(4) He must state the complaint to the pupil and 
hear his defense. 

(5) If possible he must lead the pupil to convict 
himself. 

(6) He must remember that reformation, correc- 
tion, settlement, and not revenge, are sought; 
punishment is to be applied only if necessary. 



368 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

"A public punishment is fearfully unequal in its inci- 
dence : one boy feels the publicity so much more than 
another; moreover, it either hardens the offender and 
destroys his self-respect, or else, if he takes it gamely, 
it makes him a hero ; as for the onlookers it makes them 
insufferably self-righteous." * 

(7) He must endeavor to get the desired result 
by working with the pupil alone. The older the 
pupil the more effective the appeal to his sense of 
manhood, his sense of right, the " square deal," etc. 

(8) When the pupil admits his error, at least on 
his first offense, it remains only for him to give 
some tangible evidence of his contrition and his 
intention to do right in the future. This he may do 
in a variety of ways, for instance : 

(a) If he has damaged property he may repair or re- 
place it. 

(b) If he has taken time from his class which did not 
belong to him, he may forfeit his own time. 

(c) If he has committed an offense against the class, he 
may apologize to them ; or if against his teacher, to her. 

If it is a class matter, his reinstatement might 
depend upon a favorable vote of the class. If a 
teacher matter, he may be given the privilege of 
writing a letter of apology and of assurance as to his 

1 J. L. Paton, Educational Foundations, vol. XVIII, p. 529. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 369 

future conduct, which the principal may send to the 
teacher for her consideration. 

If a boy " dodges " the issue and is inclined to 
charge his own misconduct to " the other boys," he 
may, very logically, be transferred to a girls' class 
where there are no boys to disturb him. 

When he is returned to his class, he may be rein- 
stated on probation. 

i9-. 

M 

In view of 's desire for a trial in his 

class, I reinstate him on PROBATION. Please send him 
to me daily at m. with a report as to his conduct : 



Day No. 


Day op Week 


Conduct 


Teacher 


Noted 


1 










2 










3 










4 










5 










6 










7 










8 











(9) Under certain conditions a principal will 
report a discipline case to the pupil's parents : 
(a) if it is a repeated offense by a pupil too young 
to reason clearly in the premises ; (b) if it is an 
offense by a pupil old enough to reason, who refuses 



370 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

to carry the reasoning to its logical conclusion ; (c) if 
the offense points to physical defect as its cause. 

The chief reasons for referring to the parent 
are to secure cooperation 1 of parent and teacher, or 
to insure adequate punishment of the pupil. The 
principal may take the position of assuming that the 
parent desires his child to do right and to respect 
laws and rules. He may point out, when punishment 
is required, that the parent has greater resources 
at his command than has the school, and that the 
parent may use whatever form of punishment seems 
best fitted. If the child in question were the only 
pupil the teacher had, — the principal may explain 
to the parent, — then it would be an easy matter 
for her to handle the case without appeal to the 
parent. As she has a constant duty to some forty 

1 So stated in the rules in some cities, for example, St. Louis : 
"For the purpose of securing the cooperation of parents or guar- 
dians, any pupil may be sent home from school by the Principal ; 
provided, however, that such temporary suspension shall not 
extend over a longer period than two days. A written notice must 
be sent to the parent or guardian in each case, stating the cause of 
such temporary suspension. If the pupil has not been reinstated 
at the expiration of two days, a regular suspension notice shall be 
sent to the parent and the Superintendent. The Principal shall 
keep a list of temporary suspensions, together with the date of each* 
and report the same to the Superintendent at the close of the 
quarter." — 49, Sec. 7. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 371 

or fifty other pupils, it must be clear that in justice 
to them she should not be required to devote an 
unreasonable amount of time to his child. On this 
basis the parent may be required to deal with his 
child in such manner as shall guarantee the pro- 
priety of his reinstatement to his class. 

In referring to the parent, the principal must 
be " sure of his case." He must have a sound 
case in order to guard against a just appeal from his 
decisions by the parent — a case so clear that, if 
the parent does appeal it, the principal and the 
school are sure to be upheld and vindicated. 

The following form is suggested for the reference of 
a case to the parent : 

Public School No. 100, 

Broadway and Fulton St., 
New York, 19. .. 



M 



Dear : 

I regret I must inform you of 's misconduct 

in school. . . e has been reported to me by M 

for 

I have been obliged therefore to withdraw h . . from h . . 
class until you call in regard to h . . reinstatement. 
Respectfully, 



Principal. 



372 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

This is not a suspension of the pupil, for he is kept in 
the school awaiting the parent's attention. Of course, 
in most cities, the attendance of the parent cannot legally 
be demanded by the principal, so that the principal 
should never use a note of this form unless he is ready 
to follow it up, if the parent fails to respond, with formal 
suspension of the pupil in accordance with law. 1 

Corporal punishment. If corporal punishment 
is permitted, as it is in many cities, the principal 

1 Philadelphia furnishes principals with two Request for Inter- 
view forms : 

First Request 

School, District No 191. . . 

Mr 

Dear Sir : 

We regret to state that circumstances have arisen which 

render it inadvisable to permit to return 

to school until, with your cooperation, satisfactory arrangements 
for the future have been made. We earnestly request you, there- 
fore, to call at the school not later than 4 p.m. on 

in order that we may agree upon the best course to pursue. We 

wish to readmit as soon as possible. 

Yours respectfully, 

Principal. 

The body of the Second Request reads : 

We regret that you have not called in response to our note of 

recent date, which requested an interview concerning 

Principals are required to refer to the District Superintendent for 
settlement, cases of this kind which are not adjusted promptly. 
Believing that, with your cooperation, the matter can be satis- 
factorily adjusted in the school, we would urge you to call at once. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 373 

must exercise considerable discretion in its admin- 
istration. 

a. He should reserve this form of punishment for a 
general emergency, or as a "last resort " in the case 
of an individual offender. Almost without exception, 
the adolescent pupil should never be so punished. 1 

b. He should always have witnesses to the pun- 
ishment. It is a decided advantage to have the 
teacher-complainant present. 

c. It is well to have the written authority — 
or better, request — of the parent. In some cities 
this is required by the rules. 

When the parent protests against concerning himself 
with his child's behavior, and intimates that they did 
things better when he went to school, meaning that the 
switch was more in evidence, the principal may slip for- 
ward the following form for him to sign : 

i9--. 

To the Principal, 

Public School No. 100, 

Dear Sir: 

In view of the repeated misconduct of my son, , 

I hereby request you to apply such corporal punishment 

in his case as in your judgment may seem advisable. 

Respectfully, 

(Signed) 

1 Providence: "No pupil above the primary grades shall be 
liable to corporal punishment." — XIV, 1. 



374 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

By refusing to sign, he convicts himself of not having 
meant what he said ; by signing, he minimizes the effect 
of any protest he may make subsequent to the adminis- 
tration of the requested punishment. 

Most cities require a report on number of cases of 
corporal punishment. Several provide forms to be filed 
for each case. The Spokane form is : 

Corporal Punishment Report, 
Spokane Public Schools, 

Building, 

191- 

Corporal punishment has been administered to 

to-day by 

in the presence of 

On account of 

Instrument of punishment was 

Result 

Teacher. 

Principal. 

The Seattle report calls for certain other items : 

1. For what offense was the pupil punished? 

2. What is the general character of the pupil? 

3. What other means did you employ before resorting 
to corporal punishment ? 

4. What do you know of the home influences ? 

5. Were the parents notified of the bad conduct before 
you resorted to corporal punishment ? 

6. Has the pupil ever been referred to the principal or 
the Superintendent ? 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 375 

It also adds : "This blank is to be filled in and mailed, 
without delay, to the City Superintendent by the 
Teacher or Principal inflicting the punishment." 

A "warning notice" is used, informing the parent 
"Personal appeals and mild means have been used but 
without effect, and we now request your attention to the 
matter in the hope that your influence may prevent 
more serious trouble. Should it become necessary to 
resort to extreme measures, corporal punishment may be 
inflicted or the pupil denied permission to continue in 
school. Will you please communicate with us so that, 
should such emergency arise, we may have had the 
benefit of your counsel. 

" Hoping for your aid and cooperation, we are — " 

If corporal punishment is prohibited by statute 
or by rule, the principal may, when a parent wants 
the principal or teacher to whip his child, show him 
that, as the school cannot do it and he can, it is 
clearly a matter for him to attend to. 

No discussion of the merits of the corporal punish- 
ment question is undertaken because : (1) for principals 
in a large number of cities it is an academic question; 
(2) it has already been amply and ably treated in peda- 
gogic literature ; and (3) we are dealing with the ad- 
ministrative phase of school problems. However, the 
following general propositions are submitted. 

1. The great majority of teachers and principals who 



376 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

deal with boys, those who are closest to the problems of 
the school and who are held most directly responsible 
for the education of the pupils, doubt the wisdom of ab- 
solutely prohibiting corporal punishment. This does not 
prove that they are heartless or cruel or unthinking or 
unfit. 

2. Those who believe in prohibiting corporal punish- 
ment are generally educational theorists or else educators 
who are not directly concerned with or responsible for 
the discipline of boys. This does not prove that they 
are insincere or unthinking or unfit. 

3. The theorists, appealing to popular prejudice, and 
succeeding in having corporal punishment legally pro- 
hibited in places, have not demonstrated that there has 
been a gain in the moral development of pupils. The 
practicalists, who have the technical insight and experi- 
ence, but not the popular side of the question, can readily 
demonstrate that in most cities the education of hundreds 
of pupils is thereby seriously hampered. 

4. The opposition of the two forces, the theorists and 
the practicalists, must eventually result either in the 
defeat of the theorists or in the discovery of some more 
satisfactory substitute for corporal punishment than any 
that has yet been advanced. Pupils must be trained to 
respect law. Law must have a sanction. The sanctions 
thus far offered as substitutes for corporal punishment 
seem inadequate. If adequate sanctions can be found, 
every practical school man will rejoice as sincerely as 
the most enthusiastic reformer. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 377 

Suspension. The principal must not hesitate to 
use his power to suspend a pupil when the case 
reaches that stage. If the parent proves weak, or 
indifferent, or obstructing, and fails to cooperate 
with success, if there is no parent or competent 
guardian, or if it is a case of emergency that brooks 
no delay and demands drastic or dramatic atten- 
tion, the principal must suspend. He should 
make a suspension with all formality and make 
sure that pupil and parents clearly understand the 
situation. 

Many cities use forms of notices to parents. 

Detroit on its notice quotes " Extract from the Rules 
of the Board of Education," citing the provisions apply- 
ing to suspension. The form concludes : 

This is to notify you that has vio- 
lated Rule Section , by 



and accordingly has been suspended from the privileges of 
the school. 

If you desire to have reinstated, kindly pre- 
sent this notice in person to the Superintendent of Schools 
at his office, No. 50 Broadway, between 3.30 p.m. and 4.30 
p.m. on a school day. 



Principal School. 



378 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 



Atlanta adds to its form the statement: "When . .he 
returns, . . he will be required to stand a satisfactory ex- 
amination on the work done by h. . . class during h. . . 
absence, otherwise . .he will not be allowed to reenter 
h. . . class." 

Systematic records. In order that he may handle 
each case promptly, speedily, and intelligently, 
the principal must have some system of keeping a 
record of his discipline. 

A card system with a five-by-eight card of the follow- 
ing form is convenient : 

DISCIPLINE 

Father's Name Name 

Address Date of Birth 

Business Address Date of Admission 



Date 



Room 



Teacher 



Complaint 



Disposition 



Date 

Settled 



The mere filling out of this card in the presence of the 
pupil and in response to his answers to the principal's 
questions lends an impressive dignity and seriousness 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 379 

to the situation. In filling in for Disposition, the 
principal may use a simple code of abbreviation : p 5/18 
— postal sent to parent on May 18 ; 1 m m 5/19 = note 
form No. 1 sent to mother by mail May 19; fc5/2o = 
father called May 20 ; pr 5/22 = placed in class on pro- 
bation, May 22, etc. The original card of complaint 
by the teacher is attached to this record card until the 
case is settled. Upon settlement, the record card is 
filed alphabetically, with all correspondence, probation 
sheets, etc., attached thereto. If the same pupil comes 
before the principal on a second complaint, reference to 
this card immediately recalls to the principal all the cir- 
cumstances of the former complaint and enables him to 
act with greater intelligence than if he but trusted to his 
memory. 

It is well, too, to have a corresponding record of 
merit. A card of the same size, but of distinguishing 
color, might be kept clipped to the discipline record. 
On this card can be entered all items of special com- 
mendation concerned with the pupil, to be taken 
into consideration when he becomes a disciplinary 
case. 

Pupil self-government. A number of schools have 
experimented with so-called self-government systems. 
These schemes sometimes build up a school and 
class government organization along lines parallel 



380 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

to federal, state, and municipal government. In 
other cases, a more simple form of elected class 
officers and school officers suffices to gain the same 
end of giving pupils a voice in the management of 
the school. 

A concise argument for the general proposition of pupil 
self-government is given by Superintendent Maxwell : l 
"The temptation is always present and is generally over- 
whelming, for the child culprit who suffers punishment 
... at the hands of an autocratic authority such as the 
principal or the teacher, to pose as a hero or a martyr. 
If, however, the same punishment were inflicted by a 
jury of his peers, the consolation of strutting as a hero 
or posing as a martyr would be entirely removed. The ef- 
ficacy of the punishment would be reenf orced by the whole 
strength of the public opinion of the class or the school. 
The ridicule or the pity of his fellows is what the child 
finds it hardest to endure and what he will strive most 
earnestly to avoid. In this psychological fact lies the 
chief reason for the success, such as it is, that has at- 
tended the different forms of pupil self-government that 
have been tried at various times in the history of edu- 
cation. Add to this, that the exercise of governmental 
powers by the pupils in the administration of a school 
is an excellent training in executive ability and an unsur- 
passed preparation for the duties of citizenship, and an 

1 Annual Report, 1905, p. 121. 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 381 

exceedingly strong case is made out in favor of pupil 
self-government." 1 

There is also something to be said on the other side of 
the subject. There is danger of overdoing any system 
of this sort to the extent that low motives of desire for 
"show" are being employed. Pupils should be brought 
to behave themselves without any "display" of good be- 
havior. Reduced to its lowest terms, any plan of this 
kind is a form of monitorial supervision, and as such 
shares the disadvantages of the monitorial system. 

There is a particular disadvantage in employing moni- 
tors to supervise the conduct of pupils when left alone 
in their rooms and when on corridors and stairways. 
There is always the danger of accident to pupils in their 
school life, and at such a time the monitorial system is 
highly unsatisfactory. To illustrate, suppose a girl 
falls down stairs at a dismissal and is seriously injured. 
Such an accident is likely to happen under whatever 
system of supervision may be employed, but it is the 
school which is held responsible by the parents. The 
father calls at the school to investigate. The principal 
must send for the person who was responsible for the 
supervision of the pupils as they were dismissed. Under 
a pupil-government system, that person proves to be a 
twelve-year-old boy ; and the principal explains to the 
parent that the pupils were "governing themselves." 

1 A more extended presentation, together with bibliography, 
is given in King, Social Aspects of Education, in Chapter XVI, 
Democratic Government of Schools. 



3<S2 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Might not the parent reasonably take exception to the 
condition ? ! Under the teacher-government system the 
person who appears is a responsible adult, a paid em- 
ployee, a person in a position of authoritative supervision. 
The assurance to the parent that the accident to the child 
was unavoidable, and occurred in spite of the most care- 
ful supervision by legally constituted school authorities, 
would tend to allay any feeling of animosity which the 
father brought with him. 

1 Louisville settles the question of monitors emphatically : 
"Pupils shall not at any time be required or permitted to act as 
monitors." — 2. 

Worcester, Mass., provides: "No monitor shall be appointed 
to act in any capacity in any school building, except in such in- 
stances as the superintendent may in the exercise of his judgment 
deem desirable." — VIII, 19. 

"In an eighth year class of boys in a New York City school, 42 
out of 46 voted against the establishment of a system of monitors. 
Some of the reasons are here quoted in their pristine but forceful 
simplicity : 

"Boys learn to be more trustworthy without them." 

"Boys are apt to behave themselves only when the monitors 
are there." 

"Monitor might have a grudge against some boy, etc. . . ." 

"Pupils get jealous of monitors. . . ." 

"Boys ought to learn to take care of themselves." 

" Causes ill-feeling between boys." 

"Monitor can't fight a big boy, and if he reports him he gets 
him outside. . . ." 

"Some monitors go a little too far and think they are It. . . ." 

"If his friends do anything, he doesn't report it. . . ." 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 383 

There is also the administrative phase of the sub- 
ject. It is admitted that any " plan " needs constant 
supervision by teachers and principal. Hence we 
must estimate the entries on both sides of the energy 
account and figure the balance. 

The teaching of civics, at least as much as the 
pupil can understand, is readily accomplished with- 
out the aid of any formal pupil-government schemes. 
The classroom discipline does not need reenforcement 
by a uniform school plan. The individual teacher, 
if competent, will have good order without recourse 
to an artificial motive of this kind, or if she wishes to 
use one can readily initiate and administer a simple 
plan of her own. The unsatisfactory teacher, if 
she cannot secure classroom order without a super- 
imposed plan, is not likely to get it with such a plan. 

The problem, then, from the administrative point 
of view, would seem to reduce itself to this : Any 
scheme of pupil government requires the expense of a 
large amount of supervisory energy by principal and 
teachers ; the chief, if not the sole, practical income 
from such a scheme is a monitorial supervision of the 
school territory outside the classroom ; question — 
Does the income exceed the expense? 

The deeper criticism of pupil government schemes 



384 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

rests on the question as to what constitutes self- 
government. We must all believe in self-govern- 
ment. We might stretch its definition so that it 
would be synonymous with education itself. For 
each individual to learn the great secret of self- 
government, to learn to control himself in every 
direction, is the great aim of moral education. It 
is a question whether these " systems " of self- 
government teach ^//-government, or do not, rather, 
teach each pupil to govern the other pupil. To learn 
to obey the law because one must, perforce, is not as 
high an ideal as to learn to do right regardless of 
statutory requirements. 

Transferring responsibility. The child begins his 
career with a high sense of his rights as an individual. 
As he matures he learns that individuality must in 
many directions be submerged for the social good. 
Parents and teachers in training young children 
work on the assumption that the child is not com- 
petent to determine completely his own individual- 
ity. They assume a vicarious responsibility. They 
hold the child's responsibility for himself in trust 
for him. Every time they command and compel 
him to act contrary to his own view of his own 
individuality they assume a tremendous responsibil- 



THE PUPILS' MORAL DEVELOPMENT 385 

ity. If they sufficiently realize the gravity of the 
trust they will be most eager to transfer their 
responsibility to its rightful possessor, the child, 
just the moment he can, with safety to himself and 
society, carry it himself. 

The teacher should be ever watchful for oppor- 
tunities to make this transfer. She will progres- 
sively lead each pupil in her class to shoulder his 
own responsibility to govern himself and fit himself 
properly into the social order. She will not, how- 
ever, move too rapidly ; she will never let the pupil 
fall back into anarchy because neither he nor any 
one else is governing him. Every school activity 
may be made to contribute to the rapid democrati- 
zation of the pupil. This being so, it seems wasteful 
to introduce an artificial, non-essential " scheme " 
in the attempt to bring about the same ideal. 

Summary. The problem of discipline is, perhaps, 
the most serious and perplexing one the principal 
faces. To handle it successfully he must ground 
himself with certain general principles and then 
apply these in specific methods. He must have a 
serviceable philosophy of moral training and under- 
stand his legal function as disciplinary authority. 
He must train his teachers as disciplinarians, de- 

2 c 



386 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

veloping their personalities, advising and caution- 
ing them, and giving them specific aids. He must 
himself be the chief disciplinary force in the school, 
maintaining a helpful school spirit, taking pre- 
cautionary and preventive measures against mis- 
conduct, and, when necessary, exercising to the full 
his legal authority as disciplinarian. 



CHAPTER X 

THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPAL SHIP 

It remains only to consider the principal himself 
and his personal relation to his office. This will be 
done under four heads : (i) the principal's quali- 
fications for the office; (2) his adjustment to his 
position ; (3) his personal growth ; (4) the position 
itself. 

1. The principal's qualifications for the office. 
The qualifications to be sought in a principal, as 
derived from returns to a questionnaire, are sum- 
marized as follows : 1 

" 1. He should be able to direct and supervise 
the detail of teaching procedure. 

2. He should be able to organize and maintain a 
good school. 

3. He should have an intelligent understanding 

of the school system of which his school is a part, 

and of its peculiar service to the local community, 

1 Article by Percy E. Davidson in Educational Administration 
and Supervision, April, 1918. 

387 



388 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

and should have a sense of responsibility to it as an 
official member. 

4. He should be able to understand the economic, 
political, religious, and general social character of his 
community, and to determine its educational needs 
in consequence. 

5. He should be able to appraise the community 
and its institutions with reference to ideal standards 
of American life. 

6. He should have the personal qualities of a 
leader in order that he may be a potent influence in 
the community." 

We shall consider in detail some of the more im- 
portant necessary qualifications of the principal. 

Classroom experience. Every principal should 
have had actual experience as a class teacher — this 
is imperative. However scholarly, however sincere 
and earnest, the principal who has never held the 
position of class teacher cannot put himself in the 
teacher's place. He may delude himself into think- 
ing that by his sporadic visits to the classroom, or 
even by " taking a class " for a long period, he is 
getting the viewpoint of the teacher but he is not. 
Without this viewpoint he lacks the basis for sym- 
pathetic and effective supervision. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPALSHIP 389 

Teaching ability. Moreover, the principal must 
be an excellent teacher. On the whole, he should 
be as capable a teacher as the best on his staff. 
This does not imply that he is the best teacher of 
every subject in every grade. The leader of the 
orchestra understands the playing of every instru- 
ment and can probably play one or two instruments 
better than any member of his corps. But he is not 
expected to be a virtuoso in the playing of every 
instrument. So ; too the principal ought to be 
particularly expert in teaching some subjects in 
some grades, but it is natural that there should be 
several teachers who have developed superior skill 
in teaching certain other subjects and other grades. 

Executive ability. The principal must have teach- 
ing ability plus executive ability. Those teachers 
who demonstrate organizing and administrative 
aptitude should seek promotion along the lines lead- 
ing to the executive positions. But teachers who 
lack this aptitude should not make the mistake 
of attempting administrative work. They should 
direct their efforts to preparing themselves for the 
teaching positions of the higher ranks, for the sake 
of their own happiness and the strength of the school 
system. 



390 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

Executive ability has its intrinsic advantages, 
as we shall note, but there is, in addition, an inci- 
dental gain made by a principal who is a good 
executive. The average citizen has little upon 
which to base his judgment of the principal, whom 
he meets only on rare occasions. He has few op- 
portunities to estimate the principal's professional 
ability. He is, however, impressed with the fact, 
from his occasional dealings with the principal, either 
that he is a good " business " man or that he is a 
poor one. The impression thus gained is apt to 
be carried over by the citizen when he forms his 
judgment of the principal as a schoolmaster. 

Executive ability for the principal consists not 
alone of the generic ability which applies equally 
to the command of a regiment and to the superin- 
tendency of a factory. In addition, the principal 
must possess the specific ability to adapt general 
principles to the administration of a school. The 
executive in any office should possess (a) good 
working habits, (b) a grasp of detail, (c) a sense 
of proportion, (d) system, (e) certain personal vir- 
tues. These will be considered in order, and in their 
special application to the work of the principal. 

a. Good working habits. The executive must 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPALSHIP 391 

develop such habits as will dispose of his work in an 
orderly and regular manner. Chief among these 
habits are promptness, speed, and accuracy. Work 
must be done promptly because procrastination is 
the thief of time. 1 Work must be done rapidly in 
order that it may be adequate in amount. Work 
must be done accurately that it may not have to 
be done over again. 

The work of a hat factory is tangible and definite ; 
the aim is to turn out in a given time a maximum 
number of hats at a minimum expense. The work 
of a school is tangible only in part ; the aim is not, 
as many would have us believe, to turn out so many 
pupils in a given time at a minimum expense. It 
is rather, in a given time, to render to pupils a 
maximum service, at a proper expense. The ele- 
ment of time enters into the calculations of both 
factory and school. In either case it is a constant 
and measurable factor. But beyond this there is 
a decided difference between the two problems : 
hats may be counted and the ratio of hats to min- 
utes determined; but education and minutes are 

1 Many cities refer specifically and effectively to promptness. 
Some of them provide a penalty of a cash forfeit or deferred pay- 
ment of salary for laxness in submitting reports. 



392 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

incommensurable. That is to say, the hat maker, 
working with increased rapidity and accuracy, 
computes his gain in hats ; the principal, improving 
his habits of speed and accuracy, makes gains 
uncounted and unaccountable. There is a limit 
to the profit in the things called hats; there is no 
limit to the profit in the things of the spirit. The 
principal, therefore, among all executives, has the 
highest of motives impelling him to put forth effort 
in perfecting his working habits. To the develop- 
ment of his own habits he applies the same psychol- 
ogy as he uses with pupils in the mechanizing of 
their habits. 

b. A grasp of detail. The principal must have 
a good memory, together with a well-developed 
ability to forget. He must note, and recall when 
necessary, the whole gamut of minor matters, which, 
combined, constitute the life of his school. It is 
equally important, however, that these details 
should not depress him, or even impress him except 
in his marginal consciousness. So far as it is possible 
for him to do so, he will give over direct supervision 
of many details to subordinates. In such cases he 
will continue to exercise a certain oversight but it 
will be of such a nature as to reenforce the work of 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPALSHIP 393 

his assistants and not hamper them by petty inter- 
ference. 

c. A sense of proportion. An elaboration of this 
theme might well lead us into the exploitation of a 
philosophy of life. A lack of a sense of proportion, 
whereby one attempts to repair a watch with a 
crowbar or to remove a mountain with an orange 
spoon, is all too common among people otherwise 
very estimable. It is a trait unfortunate in any 
walk of life and particularly disastrous in an execu- 
tive position. The principal whose chief concern 
is to ring electric bells, carry messages from room 
to room, or file reports that are models of the en- 
grosser's art, may be sincere, industrious, and, in 
a way, successful; but he certainly is inefficient in 
any true estimate of intelligent supervision. 

In the large, two converse principles should con- 
trol the principal's administration : (1) never to 
do, himself, what some one else can do just as well 
as he, and (2) to concern himself mainly with 
those things which he alone can do, or which he 
can do better than others. He must do the im- 
portant things, even if many matters intrinsically 
serious but relatively unimportant have to wait 
or even have to be neglected entirely. If there 



394 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

are not enough important things which he alone 
is fitted to do, then either he or his school is in 
a sad state. The practical application of these two 
principles leads immediately to a consideration of 
the fourth qualification. 

d. System. The principal's intention to do things 
proportionately can gain concrete expression only 
by the aid of systematic management. This sub- 
ject has already been referred to (p. 4), and has 
been exemplified at many points throughout the 
extended discussion of technical details. In saving 
himself for the important duties, the principal will 
put as much as possible of his routine work upon 
others. If a twelve-year-old girl is available who 
can push electric-bell buttons, if a ten-year-old boy 
can carry a message from room to room, if a teacher 
can file a statistical report, it is wasteful for the 
principal to put his energies into these directions. 
If he has supervisory or clerical assistants, it is 
comparatively easy for him to get relief from rou- 
tine. Without such assistants, he can yet secure 
relief by proving to his teachers that he can help 
them better if he is free from clerical and routine 
duties. He ought to be able to show any teacher 
that if she will volunteer to act as his clerical assist- 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPALSHIP 395 

ant for, say, an hour a week outside her regular 
time, the help which he will thus be free to give her 
in her work will amply repay her. 

To perform the mechanical work of his school 
the principal must establish as perfect a machine as 
possible, not because he admires machinery as such, 
but because mechanization makes it possible for 
him to devote himself to the broader phases of his 
work. A machine is not always easy to build, but 
it should be easy to run. The school which requires 
the hand of the principal unceasingly on the helm 
is sailing too close to the wind. Occasional absence 
of the principal should not ripple the surface of the 
school life. 

To insure a stable equilibrium in the school 
organization the principal must understudy himself 
and his associates. On occasion, he will deliberately 
neglect certain duties which he ordinarily performs, 
making sure that they are properly attended to by 
some one else. Then when the principal is unex- 
pectedly off duty, the work of the school proceeds 
automatically. 

The principal in the classroom. Much of the 
time which the principal gains by systematic han- 
dling of routine he will spend in the classroom. In 



396 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

fact, many school systems require a certain amount 
of teaching from the principal. 1 There are several 
reasons why he should get into the classroom and 
teach. We have already considered three, namely : 
(i) to evaluate the work of the teacher ; (2) to 
discover the bright or exceptional pupils whom the 
teacher, through daily familiarity, is less apt to 
note ; (3) to give a " model " lesson. There are 
other reasons : 

(4) Class teaching enables the principal to main- 
tain his technical skill. Without continued practice 
he will cease to be an excellent teacher, which he 
should be to the end of his career. 

(5) It helps him to maintain sympathetic under- 
standing of the teacher and her problems. 

(6) It helps the pupils by introducing them to 
variety, and in some cases, superiority, and by 
increasing the feeling of personal friendship between 
principal and pupils. 

(7) It relieves the principal from the monotony 

of office work. In the first months in the supervisory 

position, he may welcome as a relief the change from 

1 As, for example, New Haven : "They shall regularly give such 
personal instruction in the prescribed work of the school as may 
be required by the Superintendent, but in no case shall a principal 
teach less than five hours a week." — 184. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPALSHIP 397 

classroom experience. As he continues in adminis- 
trative work, however, the office routine becomes 
tedious. It will be actually deadening unless offset 
by constant classroom association with teachers and 
pupils. 

e. Certain personal traits. The principal must 
possess certain attributes which depend chiefly upon 
innate personality. Yet if they are lacking they may 
be acquired, or if weakly present, may be materially 
strengthened. To begin with, the principal must 
possess those personal characteristics that distin- 
guish the excellent teacher. But the principal has 
to meet situations outside the range of the teacher's 
work; he must solve problems which she does not 
face and deal with people to an extent that she is 
not called upon to do. Hence the principal has an 
even greater need than has she to exercise the par- 
ticular virtues of courtesy and courage. 

Courtesy. Courtesy, for the principal, must in- 
clude that true kindness which relieves official acts 
of the terrors of officialism. It also demands the 
equable temper which is unbroken by the severest 
strains, so that the principal's attitude toward 
pupils, teachers, and others shall be the same yester- 
day, to-day, and to-morrow. This attitude is at 



398 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

once the cause and the effect of rational patience 
and true sympathy. 

Courage. Courage, the outward expression of an 
innate and basic integrity, operating positively 
through firmness and negatively through reserve, 
is a virtue constantly drawn upon by the principal. 
The principal's position is not usually regarded as 
one requiring anything akin to militant courage. 
Yet many times daily in a quiet way and occasionally 
under more dramatic circumstances the principal 
must choose between easy acquiescence and rigid 
determination. It is easy to let the refractory dis- 
cipline case slip along undecided; easy to refrain 
from correcting the pathetic, the argumentative, or 
the political teacher; easy to let the school board 
member have the unwarranted special privilege 
he demands. It requires courage to take prompt, 
decisive, and correct action in these matters. 

There are constantly recurring instances when the 
principal must choose between serving his school 
and serving his personal comfort and ambition. 
For the principal to use his school in such a way as 
to win favor with the " powers that be " is a cheap 
but too often effective method of securing official 
advancement. For the principal to remember first 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPALSHIP 399 

and always that his oath of office is to his pupils is 
frequently to seal before him the doors of promotion. 
To do this deliberately calls for stalwart courage. 1 

2. The principal's adjustment to his position. 
The principal will adjust himself to his principalship 
in either of two ways, according to whether he is 
appointed to organize a new school, or to succeed a 
competent principal in the management of an already 
established school. In the one case, he must pursue 
a policy of masterly activity ; in the other, a policy 
of artistic inactivity. 

Organizing a new school. To organize a new 
school demands painstaking planning and energetic 
execution. As much as possible of the organizing 
must be done before the pupils appear for admission: 
the selection of teachers, their assignment to grades 
and rooms and to duties outside the classrooms, the 

1 Los Angeles puts itself on record, in its Circular of Information, 
thus: "All promotions as well as appointments shall be made 
upon the basis of merit to be ascertained by length and character 
of service and marked fitness for the work to be done. Education 
efficiency demands that school work be organized upon the basis 
of merit alone, and the employment of political, personal or social 
influence of any sort to secure advancement will be regarded as 
unprofessional and forbidden." 

In this connection, the Code of Ethics adopted by the Mis- 
sissippi State Teachers Association, 191 7, reprinted in Journal of 
Education, January 17, 1918, is of interest. 



400 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

delivery of supplies, the outlining of at least the first 
few weeks of work, the promulgation of a few well- 
considered rules, etc. It is better to organize along 
all of these lines tentatively, even if many changes 
have to be made later, than to postpone planning 
until there is the added problem of actually having 
the pupils on hand. The principal will gain the 
respect and confidence of his teachers through his 
evident command of the many difficulties involved. 
Conscious of his mastery of the situation, they will 
follow his leadership willingly and loyally. His 
influence with the pupils will soon be felt, and the 
entire school will become an expression of his thought 
and his ideals. 

Succeeding another principal. Quite different is 
the problem of the principal who begins his work in a 
well-organized school as the successor of a respected 
principal. It will be a serious and far-reaching 
mistake for him to attempt to gain control by 
strenuous remodeling of the school to conform with 
his ideas. Teachers are fearful of change; if they 
have adjusted themselves to the methods, expecta- 
tions, and ideals of a principal whom they admire, 
they will react resentfully toward a rough and 
sudden overthrow of their accustomed routine. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPALSHIP 401 

Whether or not the new regime is more able or 
more just, has little to do with it ; the mere fact of 
ruthless change will stir the teachers to a contra- 
riety that it will take years to overcome. Hence 
the principal must proceed cautiously. Even if the 
school, according to his judgment, has been woefully 
mismanaged by his predecessor, he must remember 
that it has pulled along for some time and that a 
few weeks more can make no great difference. 

The best course for the new principal to follow is 
to spend several weeks in patient but keen observa- 
tion of conditions. He will study appreciatively 
the good points of the organization, administer 
details as nearly as possible in accord with the 
methods of his predecessor, and, in general, try to 
convince the teachers that, after all, he is harmless. 
One after another of them will come to view him as 
conservative, will note his ability in the settlement 
of daily difficulties, will regard him as thoroughly 
competent, and will be eager to follow his leadership. 
Only when the teaching staff, in the main, has 
attained this confidence in the principal can he 
safely begin to reconstruct according to his own ideas. 
His subordinates will now carry out his instructions 
intelligently, enthusiastically, and helpfully. 

2 D 



402 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

To the new principal, this looks like a program 
of delay. In following it he is inclined to chafe under 
the restraints it imposes upon his initiative. In 
reality it is a program which gains time immeasurably 
for the ultimate accomplishment of his purposes. 
His teachers with him at last, he can, in a week, 
successfully make transformations, install systems, 
and institute experiments, that it would take 
years of struggle to accomplish were his teachers 
in a state of passive indifference or studied 
opposition. 

3. The principal's personal growth. The prin- 
cipal must not permit himself to remain at any one 
level, however high, but must consistently and con- 
scientiously study to refresh and replenish the 
sources of his own personality. His personal growth 
will take place along two main lines, professional 
development and general culture. 

Professional growth. It has all along been as- 
sumed that the principal is prepared for his work, 
although no preparation can ever be regarded as 
completed. He must recognize the defects in his 
original preparation and study to remedy them. 
The very exercise of his specific school duties in a 
spirit of honest endeavor will lead him to overcome 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPALSHIP 403 

many of those defects, but he must not be content 
with this measure of correction. Education is 
science, and science is always advancing. The prin- 
cipal must keep pace with the progress in the science 
of education by systematic reading, study, and 
independent thinking. Education is art, and art 
is nourished by inspiration ; the principal must seek 
the companionship of his fellow-artists, through 
associations and visitation, and profit by their 
influence and the work of their hands. 1 

General culture. The principal's professional 
competency must emerge from a background of 
general culture. He must be more than a scientist 
in education ; he must relate his science to the whole 
body of organized knowledge, becoming a thoughtful 
student of the science of sciences, which is philosophy. 
" To be an educator is not, then, to be a man merely 
conversant with the customs and conventionalities 
of the schoolroom. It is to be a man with a defen- 
sible social creed. . . . Unless we are courageous 
enough to work back to this firm ground, the phil- 
osophic idea, we can have no assured position on 
any question of human import, and surely nothing 

1 Milwaukee allows a principal nve days per year for the visita- 
tion of other schools ; New York, three days ; etc. 



404 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

to say about education that will be at all worth 
saying." * 

The principal must be more than an artist in 
education ; he must relate his art to its fellow arts 
and crafts, so that he never ceases to be a man among 
men. The most serious reproach made of school 
men is that they are pedantic and provincial. The 
principal must study to avoid meriting this reproach. 
He can fulfill his " general " obligations to society 
only if he seeks and acquires the beneficent attrition 
which accompanies association with men of other 
arts, of other crafts, of other professions, with men 
of breadth, of balance, of energy, of purpose, and of 
accomplishment. 

4. The principalship. " In almost every aspect, 
except that of salary, the principalship of a school is 
the most desirable of all educational positions, unless 
one desires to pursue in a professorship some par- 
ticular line of study." 2 Let us consider the main 
proposition of this statement, together with the two 
exceptions noted, beginning with the exceptions. 

Salary. The phrase " except that of salary " 
should be frankly considered by every one who con- 

1 C. Hanford Henderson, Education and the Larger Life, p. 6. 

2 Chancellor, Our Schools, p. 176. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPALSHIP 405 

templates enlisting in the service of education. 
Financial advancement for elementary school 
teachers lies mainly along the line of promotion into 
the principalships. Positions of greater remunera- 
tion are relatively few. The real question for the 
teaching aspirant, therefore, is : Can I be satisfied 
with the salary of a principalship as the maximum 
financial reward? The salaries of principals vary 
greatly in different cities and towns, according 
to the local cost of living, size of school and con- 
sequent responsibility involved, and the standard of 
qualifications for the position. As compared with 
the financial returns in other vocations, preparation 
and qualifications considered, the average income 
of educators is undoubtedly considerably less than 
that of the other workers, except perhaps the 
ministers. 

To say that the average income of educators is 
about two thirds that of men of similar equipment in 
other vocations, is probably a fair statement. It is, 
however, an inadequate statement, in that the 
ambitious man is not willing to start out in life call- 
ing himself the " average " man. The chances, it 
is true, are all in favor of his turning out to be an 
average man, but he would fail to become even that 



406 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

if he lacked the determination to excel the average. 
In most vocations he sees almost limitless opportu- 
nities for financial success. He may enter medicine 
and aspire to thousand-dollar fees ; he may enter 
law and aspire to a fifty- thousand-dollar practice ; 
he may enter business and aspire to untold wealth. 
There is nothing in the premises to make his aspira- 
tions impossible of fulfillment. 

If, however, he enters educational work the 
financial limit of his ambition must be a three- or 
four- thousand-dollar principalship or a ten-thousand- 
dollar superintendency or college chair or presidency. 
He cannot look forward to a twenty-thousand-dollar 
position, for the reason that there is none. 

It is quite evident that the young man eager for 
the chase of dollars will not pursue his quarry in 
the open fields of school teaching. If he lacks the 
sporting and speculative instinct and prefers a 
fairly assured and steady income, though a meager 
one, to the chance of unlimited wealth, then he may 
turn his attention to teaching. If he reaches a 
principalship in a city system, he will be fairly well 
paid, but not exactly paid. It may be of interest to 
inquire why the principal's pay is but moderate and 
why it is inexact. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPALSHIP 407 

Salary moderate ; State school monopoly. The 

organizing and administering ability of the thor- 
oughly competent principal of a large city school is 
not rated at its full commercial value because the 
principal is the subject of one of the greatest mo- 
nopolies of the world. The State has taken over the 
bulk of the schooling " business." If government 
kept its hands off entirely, as in the case of other 
businesses, there would be the same opportunity to 
" make money " as there is in those other vocations. 
For instance, were it not for this monopoly, an 
enterprising principal of a school of two thousand 
pupils, now paid, say, three thousand dollars, could 
capitalize his " plant," give better satisfaction to his 
" patrons " than he can give as the head of a public 
institution, return a liberal interest on the invest- 
ment, and earn for himself from ten to twenty 
thousand dollars. 

The qualifications that make the principal a good 
school manager would also, as a rule, make him a 
good administrator in commercial lines where the 
income is much greater; he is, however, outside 
these paths of competition. By the time he has 
reached an administrative position, he has spent 
too many years in technical training to be able to 



408 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

get into active competition with executive men out- 
side his profession. Hence he is appraised, not at 
what he could have earned had he gone into the 
commercial field from the first, but at whatever sum 
he can wrest from a not over-willing board of alder- 
men or board of education or State legislature. 

Salary inexact; size of school system. The 
salary of a city principal is inexact both because of 
the State monopoly of education and because of the 
size of the city system. In a large organization 
salaries are necessarily fixed by schedules, and flat 
rates have to be made to cover a class. All the 
principals in a city organization may be paid two 
thousand dollars. In reality, one of them may be 
worth to the city ten thousand dollars, and another, 
something with a minus sign before it. Thus, in 
the evening-up process, the best principals are 
underpaid and the poor ones overpaid. Were the 
same men employed in a competitive system, or in 
a large corporation within which competition pre- 
vails, they would be rewarded more nearly in accord 
with their relative merits. 

The average citizen regards the teacher's annual 
salary as ample because he is prone to divide it by 
" working " hours, which makes the hourly pay 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPALSHIP 409 

seem a respectable amount. His initial mistake is 
in comparing this amount, not with the fee of the 
physician or lawyer, but with the wage of the 
mechanic or day laborer. He overlooks the fact 
that good teaching is not a matter of " hours," and 
perhaps, too, the fact so important to the teacher, 
namely, that he has to live, at some expense, during 
all the hours of the year. The educator, when this 
critical estimate of his salary is made, is tempted to 
try to reduce his service to an hourly basis and to 
supplement his income by employing, for financial 
profit, the extra hours he is supposed to squander. 
But this is unsatisfactory from every standpoint. 
It results in a strain and a division of interest which 
must react unfavorably upon his school work. To 
relieve him from the temptation is one of the duties 
of salary-schedule makers, and is, after all, a strictly 
" business " proposition. 

It is evident, then, that the desirability of a 
principalship cannot wholly, if at all, depend upon 
its financial attractiveness. Having faced this un- 
feeling fact, let us next turn to the other " exception." 

Principalship and professorship. " Unless one 
desires to pursue in a professorship some particular 
line of study." Financially considered, the college 



410 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

instructorship and the principalship are about at a 
parity. The maximum salary may be reached in 
fewer years in the case of the principalship and 
attainable salaries in the case of a few professorships 
exceed those within reach of the principal. The 
factor of monetary reward may practically be elim- 
inated in comparing the two offices. What remains 
is chiefly the element of personal preference. * The 
professor works more intensively, the principal works 
more extensively; the one works more logically, 
the other more pedagogically ; the one works nearer 
the ideal, the other works nearer the people; each 
is peculiarly restricted and circumscribed, and each 
is peculiarly free. There is no disputing as to tastes ; 
and hence the choice between the two careers is a 
matter of personal coefficient. 

The main proposition of our quotation concerns 
the attractiveness of the principalship ; and it is 
" the most desirable of all educational positions " 
on several counts. 

Principal's influence. " No other person in the 

school system can do so much good at first hand." 1 

The influence of the principal is extensive and yet 

direct. Within the limits of his school, he reaches 

1 Dutton, School Management, p. 241. 



THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPALSHIP 41 1 

each and every teacher and pupil, and reflects him- 
self in them. His influence with the pupils is not so 
direct as that of the teacher, nor does it extend to so 
many pupils as does that of the superintendent; 
yet it is more satisfactorily direct than the super- 
intendent's, and more satisfactorily extensive than 
the teacher's. His influence extends, too, through 
his school, into a wide circle of community life. 
The opportunities for intelligent service to pupils, 
teachers, and the community are unlimited. 

Principal's rewards. The principalship yields, 
too, a more personal and, if you will, a more selfish 
satisfaction. The principal, presumably, is a stu- 
dent, with the instincts and habits and aspirations 
of the student ; there are few other vocational posi- 
tions wherein these instincts can be given freer rein, 
these habits better trained, and these aspirations 
more nearly satisfied. The conscientious and ob- 
servant principal will greatly appreciate the cultural 
value of his position. He touches life at many 
points and thus enjoys many privileges. He daily 
looks into the minds of hundreds of children and 
renews his own youth. He studies closely the 
personalities, inspiring in both their diversity and 
their unity, of many teachers. He conducts him- 



412 THE MANAGEMENT OF A CITY SCHOOL 

self with loyalty and courtesy, yet without syco- 
phancy and deceit, in his dealings with officialdom. 
He exhibits, in his intercourse with the visitors to 
his office, the spirit of unaffected democracy which 
keeps acute his sensitiveness to the social solidarity. 
In short, the view of the school principal epitomizes 
the whole range of human experience, and the 
comprehension and sympathy of his insight are the 
measure of his own gain in true culture. 



APPENDIX 

QUESTIONS IN "SCHOOL MANAGEMENT" GIVEN 
IN VARIOUS CITIES IN EXAMINATIONS 
FOR LICENSE AS PRINCIPAL, SU- 
PERVISING PRINCIPAL, ETC. 



APPENDIX 

Questions in "School Management" Given in Vari- 
ous Cities in Examinations for License as Prin- 
cipal, Supervising Principal, etc. 

Newark December, 191 7 

(Answer eight) 

1. Show the advantages and the disadvantages of 
coeducation in the elementary school. 

2. How far may students cooperate with the teachers 
in the discipline of the school ? 

3. Show how the methods of instruction and the dis- 
cipline may be utilized in the formation of good habits. 

4. What is meant by "training for efficiency"? 
Discuss fully the purpose and work of the schools with 
reference to efhciency. 

5. Which is of greater importance in a teacher, knowl- 
edge of the subject matter or skill in teaching? Give 
reasons for your answer. 

6. What can the school do in the way of vocational 
guidance of pupils who are not going to a higher institu- 
tion? 

7. Discuss the means of maintaining the health of 
school children. 

8. Discuss the question of the six-year elementary 

4*5 



416 APPENDIX 

and the six-year high school (the six and six plan), giving 
reasons for or against. 

9. Show how history, physical training, manual train- 
ing, art, and sports may each be applied in teaching 
morals. 

10. What is the purpose of school supervision ? Show 
the relation that should exist between supervisor and 
teacher. 

New Orleans August, 19 13 

1. What are the principles and controlling facts that 
should guide in the making of an elementary course of 
study ? 

2. What is meant by "the district the unit," "the 
township the unit,' , "the county the unit," in school 
administration? Which of these plans is in operation 
in Louisiana? Is it the best of the three? Reasons 
for your answer. 

3. What are the characteristics of a good recitation 
exercise ? 

4. Name and give the meaning of six of the more 
important elements which determine the efficiency of 
teachers. 

5. What are the principal functions of a school prin- 
cipal ? 

6. What different types of schools are now found 
in the school system of our best cities? What has 
caused this multiplicity of schools ? 



APPENDIX 



417 



7. Discuss the " Grade Meeting of Teachers." In- 
clude in the discussion the following topics : What it is, 
need for, content of, how conducted. 

8. One function of the school is to protect and pro- 
mote the health of the child. Give the duties of the 
teacher in this matter. 

9. Describe what you consider to be the best method 
of determining the eligibility of a candidate to teach. 

10. Discuss : "How to build up a good school spirit." 



New York 










September, 191 


3 






(Time - 


— Three Hours) 








Years in 








Age 








School 


9 


10 


n 


12 


13 


14 


15 


[6 


3-.-. 














1 


• 


4. . . . 




21 


4 






1 






5.... 


3 


24 


42 


17 


3 


1 


1 


. 


6.... 




2 


36 


45 


21 


4 




• 


7.... 




. . 


8 


24 


30 


6 




1 


8.... 








8 


19 


15 


3 


2 


9.... 










3 


10 


4 




10. . . . 














6 


1 



, The above chart represents the condition existing in 
the sixth-year classes of a certain system of schools. 
The course covers nine years, including a "connecting 
grade." 



2 E 



418 APPENDIX 

(a) What can you say of children represented by the 
figures (i) on the right-hand side of the vertical line? 
(2) below the heavy horizontal line? (3) in each of 
the four quarters ? (6) 

(b) What difference exists between " over-age" and 
" retardation" ? Is a repeater necessarily a laggard? (6) 

(c) What practical measures are indicated for the 
children in the lower right-hand quarter of the 
chart? (6) 

2. Assume throughout a large school a very high per- 
centage of non-promotion from Grade iA in a given 
term. 

(a) Give some indication as to how to find the cause 
(i.e., the data you would collate, etc.). (8) 

(b) What, according to the best available data, are the 
probable causes ? (4) 

(c) Suggest remedies according to the several probable 
causes ? (4) 

3. "Any scheme of pupil government requires the 
expense of a large amount of supervisory energy by prin- 
cipal and teachers ; the chief, if not the sole, practical 
income from such a scheme is a monitorial supervision 
of the school territory outside the classroom ; question, 
Does the income exceed the expense?" — Perry. 

Discuss this position. (12) 

4. Give some account of the present movement toward 
measuring accurately the results of instruction by stand- 
ardized tests, describing and criticizing the Courtis and 
the Binet tests. (15) 



APPENDIX 419 

5. "To develop control of the feelings and emotions 
is an important direction of will culture." 

Outline the course of such development, indicating 
basal principles. (15) 

6. Explain briefly the meaning of the following terms, 
and indicate their significance for the school principal 
(or assistant to principal). (20) 

(a) " Minus distance." 

(b) Scoliosis. 

(c) Physiological age. 

(d) Vocational adjustment. 

(e) Cretinism. 

New York September, 1913 

(Assistant to Principal) 

(Time — Two and one-half hours) 

1. "The amount of moral injury which results from 
constantly demanding less of children than they are 
capable of doing, and from keeping them on work that 
has grown stale to them, cannot be estimated." 

(a) Comment on this statement. (8) 

(b) Suggest practical measures designed to minimize 
the injury here referred to. (16) 

2. "Penmanship in a certain school was assigned 15 
minutes daily throughout the grades. The exercises 
were performed in a half-hearted, ineffective manner. . . . 
The pupils were then told that as soon as any one could 
write a plain, legible hand with fair rapidity, he would be 



420 APPENDIX 

excused from further penmanship exercises. ... A 
similar plan was adopted in spelling. . . . Whenever 
the individual instead of the class was made the basis 
for promotion, the results were excellent.' ' 

What is the principle here involved, and how far is 
it applicable ? (10) 

3. "The central point in moral education is the de- 
velopment of a sense of responsibility in pupils." 

{a) Discuss this position, mentioning other possible 
central points in moral education. (12) 

(b) Show how the sense of responsibility may be 
developed in school children. (12) 

4. Formulate a series of directions intended to help 
young teachers who have trouble in keeping order. 
(16) 

5. What " first-aid" measures should be employed in 
a case of fainting ? (6) 

6. " Children used to write with their sides toward the 
desk, the right arm wholly and the left partly supported 
by it." 

Criticize this position, and describe the correct position, 
giving reasons. (8) 

7. Explain briefly the meaning of the following terms, 
and indicate their significance for an assistant to princi- 
pal: (12) 

(a) Chorea. 

(b) "The Group System." 

(c) Stigmata of degeneration. 

(d) The Binet tests. 



APPENDIX 421 

New York July, 1918 

(Assistant to Principal) 

(Time — Three Hours) 

1. Discuss the problem of grading under the following 
heads : 

(a) Statement of the problem and its conditions. (5) 

(b) Difficulties of the problem. (5) 

(c) Suggestions and experiments that have been made 
for its solution. (Describe briefly at least three plans.) 

(9) 

2. Write on topic : 

"The model lesson, its functions, its limitations, and 
the proper method of conducting it and making use of it." 

(14) 

3. (a) Specify four ways in which the ability to study 
may be developed in elementary school pupils. (8) 

(&) Give definite practical directions as to pupils for 
the study of each of four of the following assignments : 
(12) 

The chief physical features of South America. 

The causes of the Mexican war. 

Ten words in spelling, such as medicine, separate, con- 
trolling, vaguely, etc. 

A memory gem, e.g., 

" Breathes there the man with soul so dead," etc. 

The multiplication table of 7's. 

4. Mention two specific sources of information of five 
of the following, to which teachers may be referred for 
intelligent study and appreciation : (10) 



422 APPENDIX 

(a) Phonetics of the English language. 

(b) The Constitution of the United States. 

(c) The concept of numbers. 

(d) The kindergarten. 

(e) The teaching of defectives. 
(J) Elementary design (drawing). 
(g) Gymnastic games. 

5. (a) Summarize the attempts that have been made 
to formulate standards and scales for the measurement of 
pupils' progress. (6) 

(b) Show the need and the value of such standards 
and scales. (6) 

(c) Describe some standard test or scale in number 
or composition and tell how properly to use it. (6) 

6. Answer A or B. 

A. As for one or more teachers' conferences write a 
synopsis in two or three pages of a talk on the subject 
of punishments and rewards. (15) 

B. It has been suggested that the teaching in ele- 
mentary schools is weak in " thoroughness." Give 
your opinion, your reasons. Show in detail how a 
proper degree of " thoroughness" can be secured. (15) 

Philadelphia February 6, 191 8 

(The time on this paper must not exceed three hours.) 
1. The daily program. Tell what part the class 
teacher, the principal, and the superintendent's depart- 
ment should have in it. Defend the position you take. 



APPENDIX 423 

2. The present war condition has seriously affected 
labor supplies and leadership. What can the city 
school organization do to meet these conditions? 

3. In a school the enrollment is as follows : 

8th Grade — 100 ; 7th Grade — 120 ; 6th Grade — 140 ; 
5th Grade — 160 ; 4th Grade — 100 ; 3d Grade — 120 ; 
2d Grade — 160 ; 1st Grade — 160. 

The teachers are the following : 

Misses A, B, C, D, — Excellent 

Misses E, F, G, H, I, J, K — Good 

Misses L, M, N, O, P — Untried — New 

Messrs. Q, R — Untried — New 

Misses S, T — Poor instructors 

Misses U, V — Poor disciplinarians 

Miss W — Poor health, should retire 

Show by a diagram how you would distribute the 
pupils amongst the teachers named, giving your reasons 
for the assignments you make. 

Los Angeles 

In Los Angeles no formal written examination for prin- 
cipalship is held. The candidate is judged on (1) his 
record in teaching or executive work or both 5(2) training 
and post-graduate study ; and (3) oral examination. 
The examination counts one fifth. The candidate is 
given fifteen or twenty minutes to look over a question in 
Administration. He may make notes if he desires. Then 
he appears before the examiners and discusses the subject. 



424 APPENDIX 

The following are sample questions used : 
i . Suggest one or two ways in which a principal should, 
without question, help his teachers in professional 
growth. Enlarge somewhat upon the method of pro- 
cedure as you see it. 

2. How far should principals encourage teachers to 
express themselves frankly? Or, what limits, if any, 
should be put upon the freedom of teachers to say and do 
what they believe to be best in the classroom? Are 
there general principles that may be laid down for 
guidance in such matters ? 

3. If teachers fail to see the relation of the several 
studies of the curriculum to actual life and are doing 
their work in a formal, dead fashion, suggest some ways 
by which such relation may be shown. Illustrate by spe- 
cific instances. 

4. Some facts in every lesson are of more value than 
others. What suggestions could you offer teachers which 
would help them to determine the relative value of facts ? 
Illustrate by specific subjects. 

5. In the care of buildings, it sometimes happens that 
conditions are unsatisfactory. The janitor seems willing, 
is apparently industrious, though he complains that there 
is too much to do for the amount of help employed. 

(a) In a building of twenty teachers, how would you 
proceed to learn whether it was a fact that the help was 
insufficient, other than by expression of the janitor's 
own statement? 

(b) If you believed that the janitor were willing, but 



APPENDIX 425 

not competent to deal with the situation, how would 
you help him to improve his methods ? 

6. It is the business of a school Administrator to follow 
the directions of the Board of Education, or the sugges- 
tions and interpretations thereof, made by the Superin- 
tendent of Schools. This fact is never questioned, but 
in practice it frequently happens that such directions or 
suggestions are not followed, either because nothing is 
known of them, or they are misunderstood, or they are 
forgotten. 

(a) In order to obviate the possibility of disregarding 
such directions, what provisions would you make in the 
administration of your school ? 

(b) If, in your opinion, some order or suggestion was 
apparently contrary to the welfare of the children, or to 
the principles of common sense, how would you deal with 
the situation? (Give illustration.) 

7. It is generally admitted that one of the important 
administrative responsibilities of the principal is an 
intelligent and economical method of ordering, distribut- 
ing, and caring for supplies. Frequently some method of 
standardization is found valuable in doing these things. 

(a) What method of ordering supplies and determining 
their selection seems to you best ? 

(b) Describe the method of distributing supplies to a 
school with twenty teachers. 

(c) What precaution would you take for the care and 
safety of supplies not immediately in the teacher's 
charge ? 



INDEX 



Accidents to pupils, 187. 
Administrative assistants, 148. 

headship, 77, 102. 
Admission of pupils, 230. 
Adolescence, 311. 
Adolescent girls, 225. 
Adviser teacher, 268. 
Allegiance, official, 69. 
Alumni, 347. 
Assembly, 154, 342. 
Assigning teachers, 91. 
Associations, alumni, 347. 
parents', 44. 
Athletics, 345. 
Attendance, 351. 
Authorities, principal and, 6, 69. 
Authority of teacher, 102. 
Average, 280. 

pupils, 236. 

Binet tests, 234. 
Biology and discipline, 311. 
Board, school, 70. 
Body strain, 216. 
Bright pupils, 236. 
Building, bureau, 73. 

keeping clean, 204. 

school, 153. 
Business executives, 72. 

Cambridge plan, 238. 
Care of supplies, 166. 
Case, discipline, 363. 
Certificate of merit, 126. 
Class in action, 136. 



Classroom, principal in, 395. 

regular, 155. 

standards, 269. 

work, 266. 
Clean building, 204. 
Clerical assistants, 147. 
Closed book list, 161. 
Colorless teacher, 10 1. 
Commendation, 125. 
Community council, 46. 
Complaints against principal, 80. 
Conduct and promotion, 258. 
Conference, parent and principal, 
49. 
teachers, 108. 
Contagious disease, 214. 
Cooking room, 155. 
Cooperation, 34. 
Corporal punishment, 372. 
Correlation, 125. 
Correspondence, 53. 
Council, parent-teachers', 47. 
Counselor, principal as, 362. 
Courage, 398. 
Courtesy, 397. 
Criticism, no. 
Culture, principal's general, 403. 

Daily lesson plan, 113. 

time schedule, 118. 
Decoration, 174. 
Defects, mental, physical, 223. 
Departmental plan, 240. 
Detail, grasp of, 392. 
Disciplinarian, principal as, 331. 
teacher as, 320. 



427 



428 



INDEX 



Discipline and dismissal, 188. 

a problem, 307. 

case, 36s. 

general principles, 309. 

preventive measures, 349. 

specific aids, 328. 

cautions, 322. 
methods, 319. 
Disease, contagious, 214. 
Dismissal during session, 184. 

emergency, 195. 
Disputatious parent, 49. 
Duplicate school, 3. 
Duties, principal, 26. 

Education as a science, 18. 
Emergency, 86. 

dismissals, 195. 
Entrance of pupils, 193. 
Environment, school, 16. 
Equipment, material, 152. 
Errors, principal's, 27. 
Esprit de corps, 332. 
Examinations, 275. 

and promotion, 257. 
Exchange of teachers, 96. 
Executive ability, 389. 
Executives, business, 72. 
Exhibits, school, 38. 
Exit of pupils, 193. 
Ex parte judgment, 79, no. 
Expert, principal as, 17. 
Eyestrain, 217. 

Fatigue, 120. 

pathological, 218. 
Feeble-minded pupils, 235. 
Feeling training, 315. 
Fire-drill, 196. 
Flexible time schedule, 123. 
Forgeries, prevention of, 351. 
Form letters, 56, 128, 191, 192, 331, 
339, 37i. 



Gardens, school, 348. 
General regulations, 107. 

relation, principal's, 9. 
Girls, adolescent, 225. 
Grading, 231. 
Graphs, 239, 282, 283. 
Grouping pupils, 233. 
Group punishment, 327. 
Growth and discipline, 314, 334. 

principal's personal, 402. 
Gymnasium, 155. 
Gymnastics, 208. 

Habit test, 284. 
Habits and ideals, 333. 

principal's working, 390. 
Headship, administrative, 77, 102. 
Health, department of, 214. 
Heating, 157, 206. 
Home study, 219. 
Home work, credit for, 253. 
Horizontal supervision, 148. 

Ideal teacher, 89. 
Ideals and habits, 333. 
Illness, dismissal, 186. 
Improper supervision, 81. 
Inattention, 270. 
Influence, 66. 

of principal, 410. 
Inspection, formal, 135. 
Instructing teachers, 104. 
Intellect training, 313. 
Intelligence, measure of, 233. 
Interpreting course of study, in. 

orders, 84. 
Interviews with parents, 59. 

Judgment test, 291. 

Kindergarten, 155. 
Knowing the teachers, 92. 

Lawyer and his profession, 12. 



INDEX 



429 



Leaving building, pupils, 182. 

room, pupils, 212. 
Legal authority, principal's, 318. 

obligations, principal's, 22. 

responsibility, discipline, 
principal's, 361. 

status, principal's, 25. 
Letters of recommendation, 338. 
Liberal education, u. 
Limitations, principal's, 28. 
Loose construction, 84. 

Material equipment, 152. 
Measure of intelligence, 233. 
Median, 279. 
Meetings, parents', 38. 
Memory test, 286. 
Mental defects, 223. 
Merit, reward of, 126. 
Messenger service, 190. 
Methods, uniform, 124. 
Mistakes, principal's, 27. 
Mode, 280. 
Model lessons, 129. 
Monopoly, State school, 407. 
Moral development, 307. 
Mothers' Clubs, 46. 
Motion pictures, 344. 

Neglectful teacher, 100. 
New school, organizing, 399. 

teacher, 94. 
Normal fatigue, 120. 

Obligations, principal's contractual, 
21. 
general, 13. 
Open booklist, 161. 
Oral instructions, 108. 
Order, 324. 
Orders and suggestions, 105. 

i interpreting, 84. 
Organizations, alumni, 347. 



Organizations, parents', 44. 

pupils', 345. 

Organizing new school, 399. 

Painstaking teacher, 98. 
Parents and principal, 32. 
associations, 44. 
meetings, 38. 
Pathological fatigue, 120, 218. 
Patron, 33. 

Pediculosis capitis, 215. 
Personality, teachers', 91, 320. 
Physical care of pupils, 203. 

culture, 208. 

defects, 223. 

welfare of pupils, 181. 
Physician and his profession, 11. 
Plan and progress records, 113. 
Plenum system, 159. 
Preventive measures, discipline, 

349- 
Priest and his profession, 12. 
Principal and authorities, 6, 69. 
parents, 32. 
public, 32. 
teachers, 88. 
as counselor, 362. 
disciplinarian, 331. 
expert, 17. 
contractual obligations, 

21. 
duties, 26. 
general obligations, 13. 

relation, 9. 
influence, 410. 
legal authority, 318. 
obligations, 22. 
responsibility, 361. 
status, 25. 
limitations, 28. 
mistakes, 27. 
personal growth, 402. 
relations to work, 8. 
rewards, 411. 



43° 



INDEX 



Principal's rights, 26. 
salary, 404. 
special relation, 20. 
Principalship, 387, 404. 
Principles of discipline, 309. 
supervision, 76 
Prizes, 324. 
Probation, 369. 
Professional growth, 402. 
Professions, 10. 
Professorship, 409. 
Promotion of pupils, 256. 
Proportion, sense of, 393. 
Psychology and discipline, 311. 
Publications, school, 346. 
Public control of schools, 8. 

principal and, 32. 
Punctuality, 358. 
Punishment, corporal, 372. 
Pupil organizations, 345. 

self-government, 379. 
Pupils, accident to, 187. 

admission of, 230. 

as messengers, 190. 

attendance of, 351. 

average, 236. 

bright, 236. 

discipline of, 307. 

dismissal of, 184. 

feeble-minded, 235. 

grading of, 231. 

grouping of, 233. 

leaving building, 182. 
room, 212. 

moral development, 307. 

physical care of, 203. 
welfare, 181. 

promotion of, 256. 

punctuality, 358. 

rating, 250. 

responsibility for, 181. 

scholastic progress, 230. 

suspension, 372, 377. 

testimony of, 55. 



Qualifications of principal, 387. 
Quality of pupils' work, 125. 
Questions, test, 292. 

Rating of pupils, 250. 

teachers, 133. 
Recesses, 209. 

Recommendation, letters of, 338. 
Records, discipline, 378. 

plan and progress, 113. 

promotion, 263. 
Red-tape, 5. 

Reducing grade of pupil, 262. 
Regulations, general, 107. 
Report cards, 251. 
Requisitioning supplies, 163. 
Responsibility, adult and child, 384. 
fixed, discipline, 350. 
for pupils, 181. 
Reward of merit, 126. 
Rewards, principal, 411. 
Rights, principal, 26. 

Sabbatical year, 96. 

Salary, principal, 404. 

Sarcasm, 326. 

Savings banks, school, 348. 

Schedule, daily time, 118. 

Scholastic progress of pupils, 230. 

School and State, 1, 50. 

board, 70. 

building, 153. 

duplicate, 3. 

environment, 16. 

exhibits, 38. 

gardens, 348. 

publications, 346. 

savings banks, 348. 

spirit, 332. 
"Schoolitis," 99. 
Science of education, 18. 
Scolding, 326. 
Securing teachers, 88. 
Selection of supplies, 162. 



INDEX 



431 



Self-government, pupil, 379. 
Self-seekers, 65. 
Sociology and discipline, 310. 
Special relation, principal's, 20. 

teachers, 146. 
Specific aids, discipline, 328. 

cautions, discipline, 322. 
methods, discipline, 319. 
Spirit, school, 332. 
Standards and tests, 273. 
classroom, 269. 
State and schools, 1, 50. 

school monopoly, 407. 
Strain, body, 216. 

eye, 217. 
Strict construction, 84. 
Study period, 272. 
Subdivision of work, 112. 
Substitute teachers, 141. 
Suggestions and orders, 105. 
Superintendent, 74. 
Supervision, horizontal and verti- 
cal, 148. 
improper, 81. 
principles of, 76. 
Supplies, 160. 

bureau, 73. 
Suspension, 372, 377. 
System, 4, 394. 

Teacher, administrative headship, 
102. 

as disciplinarian, 320. 

assigning, 91. 

ideal, 88. 

new, 94. 
Teachers, conference, 108. 

inspection of, 135. 



Teachers, instructing, 104. 

principal and, 88. 

rating, 133. 

securing, 88. 

special, 146. 

substitute, 141. 

three kinds, 98. 

visiting schools, 96. 
Teaching as a profession, 12. 
Testimony, pupils', 55. 
Test questions, 293. 
Tests and standards, 273. 

Binet, 234. 
Textbooks, 161, 273. 
Threatening, 326. 
Time-lost book, 214. 
Trial promotion, 261. 
Truancy, 354. 

Uniform methods, 124. 
Unreasonable parent, 62. 

Vacuum system, 159. 
Vandalism, 156. 
Ventilation, 159, 206. 
Vertical supervision, 149. 
Visitation by parents, 36. 
Visiting schools, teachers, 96. 
Visitors to school, 63. 

Water hammer, 207. 
Weariness, 120. 
Weighted average, 280. 
Will training, 317. 
Work, 271. 
Workshop, 155. 

Written instructions to teachers, 
106. 



INDEX OF NAMES 



QUOTED OR CITED 



Adler, Felix, 315, 320. 
Albany, 162, 354. 
Alderman, L. R., 46, 96, 253. 
Atlanta, 378. 
Averill, Lawrence A., 344. 

Bagley, William C, 269, 287, 338, 364. 

Balliet, Dean, 314. 

Baltimore, 182, 185, 190, 210, 265, 329, 

342. 
Bancroft, Jessie H., 217. 
Barnes, Earl, 77. 
Barnum, Charlotte E., 114. 
Barry, W. E., 153. 
Berkey, J. M., 46. 
Blaish, Lydia, 44. 
Blake, Katherine D., 336. 
Boston, 77, 345. 
Briggs, W. F., 153. 
Brinton, Willard C, 282. 
Brooklyn, 362. 
Brooklyn Model School, 41. 
Bruce, W. G., 153. 
Burrage-Bailey, 153, 176, 214. 
Butler, Nicholas M., 19. 
Byrne, Mary B. C, 114. 

Chancellor, William E., 55, 71, 74, 404. 

Chapman-Rush, 277. 

Chicago, 74, 96. 

Cincinnati, 259. 

Cleveland, 74, 95, 109, 182, 210, 213, 

215. 329, 337- 
Cole, Carlos M., 100, 144. 
Collins, Frank H., 176. 
Cort, Ambrose, 346. 
Crane, Frank, 221. 
Crosby, Katherine K., 100. 
Cubberley, Ellwood P., 238, 276. 



Davidson, Percy E., 387. 

Davidson, William M., 237. 

Dayton, 171, 360. 

Detroit, 36, 90, 96, 198, 377. 

D'Orge, Jeanne, 226. 

Dresslar, Fletcher B., 153, 159, 208, 

219, 223, 271. 
Dutton, Samuel T., 77, 410. 

Ellis-Kuehne, 153. 

Fichthandler, Alexander, 141. 
Freeport, 36. 

Gidinghagen, Walter, 294. 
Gilbreth, F. D. and L. M., 218. 
Goldrich, Leon W., 248. 
Goldwasser, L. E., 164. 
Grand Rapids, 235. 

Hall-Quest, A. L., 220. 
Harris, John F., 328. 
Heck, William H., 219. 
Hein, Henry, 254. 
Henderson, C. Hanford, 404. 
Holmes, Oliver W., 315. 
Holtz, Frederick L., 349. 
Horn, P. W., 276. 

Indianapolis, 61, 78, 201, 327, 354, 362. 

Jersey City, 166, 208. 
Jones, Mabel F., 297. 

Kansas City, 51, 348, 353. 
Kilpatrick, Van Evrie, 348. 
King, Henry, 40. 
King, Irving, 46, 333, 381. 
King, Willford L, 279. 
Kipling, 92. 



433 



434 



INDEX 



Kottman, William A., 192. 

Lee, Gerald S., 10. 

Lister-Myers, 278. 

Los Angeles, 399, 423. 

Louisville, 36, 60, 63, 185, 327, 358, 381. 

Luqueer, Frederic L., 323. 

Mandell, Edward, 175. 
Maxwell, William H., 380. 
McCarty, William P., 183. 
McCloskey, Margaret, 269. 
McMurry, Charles A., 320, 322. 
McMurry, Frank M., 94. 
Memmott, Frederick W., 126. 
Mills, W. T., 153. 
Milwaukee, 403. 
Minneapolis, 47, 49, 64, 65, 173, 206, 

346, 348. 
Mississippi, 399. 
Monroe-DeVoss-Kelly, 277, 279, 285, 

302. 
Moore, J. A., 153. 

Newark, 415. 

New Haven, 22, 78, 108, 173, 185, 187, 

344- 
New Orleans, 37, 50, 108, 138, 186, 

187, 240, 416. 
New York, 28, 74, 78, 96, 97, 134, 138, 

210, 221, 224, 235, 278, 329, 343, 357, 

381, 403, 417. 

Oakland, 97, 235. 
Omaha, 54, 203. 

Parker, F. W., 79. 

Paterson, 171, 329. 

Paton, J. L., 368. 

Perkins, Frank K., 52. 

Philadelphia, 74, 116, 215, 235, 255, 

372, 422. 
Philips, H. S., 41. 
Pittsburgh, 46, 237. 
Portland, Ore., 46, 65, 92, 96, 118, 141, 

276, 3Si, 353- 
Price, Gertrude A., 293. 
Providence, 235, 373. 
Purinton, Estelle, 44. 



Rabenort, William, 58, 114. 
Rainey, William M., 261. 
Rice, Anna L., 40. 
Richmond, 89, 136, 174. 
Robinson, L. A., 219. 
Rochester, 96, 97, 198, 329, 353. 
Roncovieri, Supt., 81. 
Rowe, Stuart H., 153. 
Rugg, Harold O., 279. 

Sacramento, 220. 

St. Louis, 74, 85, 166, 173, 208, 370. 

San Francisco, 59, 74, 80, 92, no, 198, 

210, 270, 319, 329, 354. 
Savage, R. R., 39. 
Schurman, J. G., 78. 
Seattle, 53, 64, 65, 74, 83, 173, 327, 329, 

374- 
Shallow, Edward B., 348. 
Shaw, Edward R., 153, 163, 214. 
Shawen, Ernest, 40. 
Smith, Walter B., 223. 
Smith, Walter R., 325. 
Spaulding, Frank B., 238, 251. 
Spokane, 188, 374. 
Springfield, Mass., 48. 
Starch, Daniel, 278. 
Stevens, Frank B., 239. 
Strahan, Margaret, 296. 
Strayer-Thorndike, 236. 
Syracuse, 153, 157, 220, 259, 324, 351. 

Terman, Lewis M., 223, 234, 235. 
Thorndike, Edward L., 273, 280. 

Underwood, F. M., 39. 

Van Dyke, Dr., 356. 
Van Wagenen, Kate, 106. 
Virginia, 22. 

Walker, Francis, 214. 
Walsemann, Mary, 179. 
Wheelwright, E. M., 153. 
Woods, Elizabeth L., 237. 
Worcester, 121, 205, 252, 381. 

Yerkes-Bridges-Hardwick, 234. 
Yerkes, Helen K., 43. 



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